Evil Matchmaker: Trilogies Are for Sissies
by Akayla's Pierced Heart
Summary: 3rd in Matchmaker arc. Amelia and Gibbs are both tired of the fighting between McGee and Tony. Amelia plots to get both couples together so everyone can learn to get along. But things don't always go as planned. Things get more amusing when Amelia sets her sights on Gibbs and his new neighbor for her next plot. Tim/Lexi, Tony/Piper, hinted Gibbs/newOFC Rated for situations/language
1. Chapter 1

"Ooof, what a day." Tony grunted as he plopped down on Piper's couch.

"Does my poor baby need a nap?" Piper teased from her desk chair.

"Call me a baby again, and I will tackle you."

"I may just accept that challenge." Tony smiled and stretched out across the couch, facing the tiny office area where Piper sat. She was busy at her computer.

Monotony had finally been restored to his life. Well, for the most part, anyways. It had been only two weeks since Grant Thanes was arrested. But to Tony and Piper, it might as well have been two years. Things between him and Tim were still tense at work. Civility had just about reached its limit, as far as Tony was concerned. Every time he mentioned this to Piper, she got this odd little smile on her face. It reminded Tony a lot of Amelia. It was really weirding him out.

"You're cute when you're concentrating." He spoke up again, breaking his own train of thought.

"How do you know? My back is to you."

"Well, you're always cute."

"I think you're biased." He could hear her stifle a yawn.

"I think _you_ need a nap." Tony rolled himself off the couch and stood up. Piper glanced over her shoulder just as he came up behind her. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he pulled her back. "Come on," he whispered into her ear. "This can wait."

"Tony…" Her voice gave the slightest hint of a warning. "If I don't do this now, I'll have to do it in the morning. And we both know how chipper I am in the morning."

"Right." Tony straightened up, not arguing.

"You go on to bed if you want. I'll meet you there." She turned long enough to give him her 'I know I'm getting my way' smile. Again, he was reminded of Amelia. He was beginning wonder if Amelia was a bigger influence than he had originally thought.

"Okay." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I'll be waiting, very impatiently." She laughed before he turned towards the bedroom. "And I'll be naked." He called when he got to the door.

"I thought you were trying to entice me, not repel me."

"I didn't hear that!" The door shut.

By the time Piper finished her work and crawled in beside him, he was already snoring softly. Piper smiled at his peaceful face. She knew Amelia was plotting something big for all of them. But Amelia had refused to divulge exactly what it was. Piper, of course, trusted Amelia… But it was still a little unsettling when Amelia got that grin on her face.

Yes, something was brewing… Or stirring… Or possibly just marinating? No, brewing worked.

NCIS

Tony strode into work the next morning with a slightly less cocky version of his usual grin. As he made his way into the bullpen, his eyes went to Gibbs' trash can. A single coffee cup lay inside. Yes, Gibbs was in. Tony sat down at his desk and booted up his computer.

"How are you here before me, again?" Ziva's voice brought Tony's eyes up.

"Well, you know what they say about the early bird?"

"It's the special that comes with pancakes?"

"No! It gets the worm!"

"What do worms have to do with breakfast specials?" Ziva cocked her head.

"I'm very close to just giving up on you."

"Now, there's the Tony I know." McGee crossed in front of Tony on the way to his own desk. Tony chose to ignore the remark.

"When are you two going to stop all of this?" Ziva sighed. "It is getting very old."

"Stop all of what, Ziva?" McGee looked up at her innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"This bickering! You two are like an old married couple, going back and forth!"

"He started it!" Tony pointed at McGee as he spoke. "If he would just let things be-"

"Me?" McGee interrupted him. "I'm not the one dating a photographer to hook up with models!"

"I am not!" Tony stood and slapped his palms on his desk. "I care about Piper! Why can't you just accept that I _am_ capable of loving someone?"

"You do kind of lack credibility."

"Okay, you know what…" Tony came out from behind his desk. At the same time, McGee stood up, still behind his desk. "I see what you are doing here."

"And what's that?" McGee crossed his arms.

"You just can't stand the fact that I'm happy." McGee's eyes narrowed at Tony's statement. "I know you think of me as a bully, and maybe you're right to… But now I have something that's just as good as what you have. I have someone who makes me happy. And you can't handle the fact that I-"

McGee cut him off again. "What I can't handle is the fact that I know you too well. What do you think is gonna happen when you ruin things with Piper? Lexi is-"

"Wait a second," Tony interjected. "What do you mean 'when' I ruin things?"

"Oh, come on, Tony… Seriously?"

"I am being serious!" And now, he was also yelling.

"McGee! DiNozzo!" The Gibbs bark made both men turn. "With me! Now!" Gibbs led them straight to the elevator. "Get in." He demanded once the doors opened. Both men obeyed. When Gibbs didn't join them, they both sent him curious looks. "You two are gonna stay in there till you sort this out." Gibbs turned to walk away. "Acting like two damn teenagers," he muttered.

It was another twenty minutes before Gibbs' phone rang. He sent a look to Ziva. She just nodded and grabbed her bag along with Tony's. Gibbs grabbed McGee's bag. As the two of them walked to the elevator, Ziva turned to Gibbs.

"Do you think they have made any progress?" Gibbs just cocked an eyebrow at her and hit the button, summoning the elevator. The doors opened. McGee and Tony were at opposite ends of the elevator, both facing away from each other. A glare was set in both men's faces.

"Guess not." Gibbs shrugged at Ziva. He was going to have to do something about this.

NCIS

"Are you sure this is the place?" Gavin asked apprehensively. He inched the car to a stop next to the curb near a surprisingly residential house. Amelia looked down at the ripped sheet of paper in her hand and reexamined the brass numbers on the house.

"Yeah. 508 Laurel. We're good."

Her husband leaned forward over the steering wheel and arched an eyebrow at the house. "It's looks so… um…"

"Civilian?" Amelia offered.

Gavin snorted. "I was going to say 'conservative' but that works, too." Finally, he turned to look at her, his brown eyes catching hers in a mirror gaze. "You sure about this? I can stay. I can tell Mitch we can play another time."

Her lips twisted into a disapproving frown and she arched an eyebrow very slightly. He didn't cringe like most people that knew her did but that was okay. His constant exposure to her had made him immune to her various intimidating tactics. "You better not. You've been putting him off for weeks. Go be a gamer. I'll be fine."

He shifted his eyes from her to the front door, an unsettled expression overwhelming his face. "I don't know. He seems kind of… I don't know, distant, I guess? And mean. There's that, too."

Amelia rolled her eyes and finally opened the car door. "I think I can handle mean. Besides, this is just you being unduly overprotective." Using the seat as extra leverage, though she certainly didn't need it quite yet, she pushed herself out of the car and onto the street.

"But, Amelia…" he started.

"Don't 'but, Amelia' me. Go play that silly card game with Mitch right now or you're banned from Halo for a week." To add to her point, she pointed an imperious finger out at the end of the street.

Gavin's face pinched in playful irritation. "Fine, then." The expression melted instantly into fondness. "Love you."

"Love you same," she replied instantly, not wanting to get into their exceedingly sappy arguments about who loved whom more. "Have fun!" Slamming the door closed, she scurried over to the yard and watched as he left, using the time to collect her thoughts.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs. There were a lot of problems with that one, the primary one being that he was too much like her. Stubborn, always had to be right, terribly good at intimidating others and, worst of all, horrible at apologizing. It was like looking in a mirror and adding twenty years. It was a little horrifying.

That was not to say that Amelia didn't like herself. She had accepted a long time ago who she was, long before she had even met her husband. However, that didn't mean she didn't have a hefty set of flaws. She was overly blunt, very slightly sadistic, and prone to violence when words didn't seem to be making an impact.

Oh, and the schemes. She always had one of those bouncing around in her head.

It was the newest one that was bringing her to the former Marine's door, begrudgingly willing to apologize to the older man if that was what it took. Despite her earliest intentions of making her two friends as close to happy as she could manage, something somewhere had taken a bit of a left turn. Oh, Lexi and Piper were fine when they weren't arguing on behalf of their significant others but she knew that Tim and Tony had lost some of their partner dynamic through the latter's courtship of the photographer. As such, Lexi didn't trust Tony with a ten-foot pole with a red herring on the end and Piper wasn't able to get to know Tim well enough to place any kind of trust in his opinions. While the relationships themselves were solid and good and real, the friendships had suffered as a result.

It was her fault and she had to fix it.

Telling herself to have some _cajones_ about this already, Amelia lifted her hand and knocked firmly on the door. It came out weak and hollow to her ears, causing her to scowl slightly. Wouldn't it be just her luck that Gibbs would open the door just as she was making that expression?

"Miss Shorne," he greeted in a flat monotone.

Amelia rolled her eyes and then shot him a half-dose of her normal glare, feeling offended at his tone. "Jethro," she greeted back. He arched an eyebrow at her and she felt a surge of warmth, despite the chill his gaze portrayed. Kindred spirits, huh? "Ducky calls you that," she clarified with a smile.

He suddenly looked exasperated. "Have you befriended all of my staff?"

She tilted her head slightly. "I guess so. So, can I come in?"

After a long moment, though not nearly long enough to put her on edge, he inclined his head and stepped aside. Crossing the threshold made her think instantly, _Hey! Not a vampire!_ She mentally shook her head, clearing the thought away, in time to see the slightly intimidating man give her a slightly curious expression, though the curiosity itself was somewhat dampened by the hard set of his face.

"Okay, so, I came by to…" Amelia faded for a moment, feeling her face twist into distaste. "Apologize."

Watching Gibbs' face in its current transition from disbelief to genuine confusion to something bordering on actual fondness was more than a little interesting. "Why?" he asked then, his tone softened from the level monotone.

"Because… well… okay, I don't have an actual reason to apologize, okay?" she huffed dramatically. With a deep breath, she reeled herself in, damning the pregnancy hormones for making her outbursts a lot more frequent. "I just figured that if I'm going to do this whole thing where I try to make Tim and Tony and Lexi and Piper get along, I should at least try the same with you."

"Makes sense," he replied after a moment of internal thought. "Can't you just glare them into submission? Works for me." He smirked slightly, causing Amelia to almost laugh at the image.

"Yeah, sure." She rolled her eyes. "That might work for efficiency's sake but you can't just make people be friends."

"That's true," he murmured. He sighed and gazed at her intently. "I should be sorry, though. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." His lips twisted into a kind of wry amusement. "It's not often that I'm… wrong."

Amelia laughed, the sound bubbling up from the center of her chest. "You don't like to admit it either, huh?"

For the first time that day, he smiled, the expression causing a twinkle in his eyes. "Not at all. How are you going to make them get along if you can't force them to be friends?"

Fully realizing that whatever barrier had been between them had crumbled, Amelia allowed her lips to curl into a mischievous smile. "Well, I've got a few ideas."

NCIS

It was dusk when Amelia stepped off of Gibbs' front porch. She felt good about this. It was going to be so much fun. And it would (she hoped) finally put an end to the fighting. She was just about to dig her cell phone out of the black hole she called a purse, when she heard the unmistakable sound of glass breaking, followed quickly by a female voice cursing loudly. Just across the street from Gibbs' house was a small one-story brick house surrounded by an overgrown lawn. There was a dark SUV parked on the street with a UHAUL trailer hooked on the back.

"Hey!" Amelia threw out a greeting as she crossed the street. A woman was bent over, trying to rescue her dropped box. It looked like she had tripped over something on her way to the steps leading to the porch. She straightened up when Amelia called out to her. "Need some help?" She came to a stop on the sidewalk, just a step away from the woman's front yard. The woman eyed her curiously. Amelia got the distinct impression that this was someone who was not used to being offered something for nothing.

"If it's no trouble…" The woman's voice was hesitant, but not-unfriendly. Her eyes dropped to Amelia's round stomach for a split second before jumping back up to her face. Amelia suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

"Not at all. I can lift." Amelia smiled and curled her arms as if to show off her muscles. The woman immediately broke into a smile.

"I'm Chloe Miller…" She stopped and frowned. "Chloe Hughes." She abandoned her dropped box and stepped forward to shake Amelia's hand. The street light gave Amelia a better look at the woman. She had chin-length dark brown hair that was kept out of her face by a thin headband. Her pale skin had a young look to it but Amelia guessed her at mid-forties.

"I'm Amelia Shorne, nice to meet you." Amelia cocked her head at the box still on the ground. "Full casualty?"

"I haven't really looked yet." Chloe turned to the box. "I sure hope not, though. All of my glasses are in there. I guess that's what I get for rush packing. I didn't use newspaper or anything." She opened the box and grimaced. "I think I have a few survivors."

"Well, even pregnant, I'm not much of a klutz, so maybe I should carry your other breakables."

"Deal." Chloe picked up the box and smiled as she handed it to Amelia. "I've been at this most of the day so there isn't much more to move."

As Amelia followed her into the small house, her eyes widened at the mess inside. The wallpaper in the front room was peeling. The once blue carpet was now a dull grey and caked with dirt in places. The front room led right into the kitchen, separated by only a bar counter. The kitchen looked even worse than the living room. The whitewashed walls were brown and yellow. Linoleum covered the floor but was cracked and peeling. Several cabinets had the doors hanging off at the hinges.

"I know…" Chloe's voice made Amelia stop looking around. "It's terrible. But, hey… I got one hell of a deal."

"Eh, fixer-uppers can be nice." Amelia shrugged as she spoke.

"I kind of wanted a fixer-upper. I thought putting this house back together might help me put my life back together. And my dad works construction. All my after-school jobs were helping him. It beats paying someone else to do it. I have new carpet and tile ordered. Once I scrape all this crap up, I can put the new stuff down."

"You don't have any furniture?"

"All in storage for now. I'll pull it out when I'm ready for it. I sleep on a blow up mattress. The master bedroom is actually the least damaged. And there's a picnic table on the back deck." Chloe suddenly stopped and scrunched her eyebrows together. "Do you live around here?"

"No. I actually live on base at Quantico. Marine spouse. I was just visiting a friend."

"Oh, I just want to make sure I'm not keeping you from anything."

"No. My husband is being a guy." Chloe's eyebrow went up. "He's with his guy friends."

"Oh!" Chloe smiled. "Now, I get why you came to visit a friend."

"What brought you out here?"

"My new job. I'm soon to be teaching American and World History at Waverly."

"I went to Waverly."

Both women moved at the same time to get more boxes. The conversation continued while they worked. Amelia talked about her friends and helping to run things at the bakery. She indulged a little bit about her two best friends dating guys who were at war with each other. This had made Chloe stop working for about five minutes to laugh. Once all the boxes had been moved in, Amelia quieted down.

"Well, do you want a tour. It won't be much of one. The house is small."

"Sure." They had left the boxes piled up on the kitchen floor. There were only three rooms and one bathroom. The kitchen led straight into a middle room. Chloe explained that this was going to be her office. To the back of the house was a smaller room. The washer and dryer took up the large closet but there was enough room for a guest bed and dresser. The bathroom was nicely sized. Amelia cocked an eyebrow at the fact that it was carpeted. Who carpets a bathroom?

"I'm pulling all this up and putting in tile." Chloe explained when she saw Amelia's face. "The thing that sold me on this house was the huge bathtub." Amelia nodded.

The master room was at the front of the house. It was almost the size of the front room. The walk in closet could've easily doubled as another room. What was it with women and huge closets? Amelia didn't ask. It was then that Amelia realized how long she had been there. Crap! Gavin!

"I need to call my husband. He might think Gibbs kidnapped me or something." Amelia quickly pulled out her phone without any further explanation. Chloe left the room to give Amelia privacy. When Amelia came back out into the front room, she was smiling.

"Was he worried?"

"He knows better." Chloe scrunched her face in confusion. "I'm just gonna call a cab." Amelia flipped open her phone.

"I don't mind giving you a ride. It's the least I can do."

"Okay." Amelia shrugged and put her phone away.

Together, they got the UHAUL unhooked from the SUV and took off for Quantico.

"So I take it you were recently divorced?" Amelia said once they hit the highway.

"Uh, yeah. Am I that obvious?"

"I can still see the tan line on your finger. And you corrected your last name earlier." Chloe nodded. "How long has it been?"

"We were separated for over a year, but the divorce wasn't finalized until six months ago. Hughes is my maiden name. I'm still getting used to it."

"What happened?" Amelia figured if Chloe didn't want to talk about it, she would just say so.

"I was young and stupid. Luckily, I got older, wiser, and a lot less tolerant of bull."

"Meaning?"

"He cheated. I got tired of it and left."

"Ah. Well, kudos for standing up to him."

"He made it hell for me. It's not easy divorcing a corporate lawyer who has his image to maintain. He wanted a bake sale wife. I wanted a stable environment and kids. Things crashed when we found out I couldn't have kids. Suddenly the world's problems became my fault. And he found his soul mate in his twenty-two year old blond secretary."

"Sounds like a bad novel."

"It was worse than being forced to read the entire _Twilight_ series cover to cover, non-stop." Amelia laughed loudly. "You hated it too?"

"God, yes! Can you say, Mary Sue!"

"Thank you! People give me such crap for not liking Twilight!"

"So… You're new to the D.C. area and you're newly single?"

"Yeah. I'm originally from North Carolina. My parents still live there. My ex-husband and I lived in Minnesota. He didn't want me working while I was with him. I finished my degree but I've never actually taught before. I'm kind of excited about it."

"Nice to be out on your own?"

"Yes. I especially love not being under my ex-husband's thumb anymore, very liberating."

Amelia shook her head and smiled. How was it that she always attracted these broken females into her circle? Was there a sign on her back that she didn't know about? An idea suddenly popped in her head. Her smile widened.

"Well good for you. But you know, if you ever need anything… You have a very nice neighbor right across the street. His name is Jethro Gibbs. He lives alone and works all the time, but he's one of those handy kind of men. He won't mind if you ask for help with your renovations. In fact, he'd love a new project."

"Is this the Gibbs that your husband thought might kidnap you?"

"Yeah, but that was really just a joke. He's a really nice guy. He's a Federal Agent with NCIS. He's the boss of the two guys I was telling you about earlier."

"Oh. Well, I could use all the help I can get. And having a man around does have it's perks… You sure he won't mind? I don't wanna be that new bothersome neighbor that everyone ends up hating."

"The guy builds boats in his spare time. Trust me, he won't mind."

"If you say so…"

Amelia smiled again and nodded. A new plot was already stirring around in her mind.

LOVING REVIEWS. PLEASE POST MORE OF THEM! VERY ENCOURAGING! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY SET UP FOR GIBBS

The whole exchange between Gibbs and Amelia starting from Amelia and Gavin arriving at Gibbs' house to the break before she leaves his house, was written by Darkened Shadows. She is the real life person Amelia is based on. Thanx so much for your contributions and for being my happy muse! And much perks to all my reviewers!


	2. Chapter 2

She had no idea how she had done it, but she had done it. It still amazed her how she had gotten them all to go along with it. Amelia smiled to herself. This was going to be so much fun.

Gavin had been torn away from her for a weekend of Marine… Whatever it was they did… So it was the perfect time to finally put her plan into action. Asking Gibbs to let his team have this particular weekend off, had been number one on her checklist. Renting a cabin in the middle of nowhere, had been number two. Three and four were a bit more tricky.

Three wasn't as much of a challenge as she had anticipated. Convincing Lexi and Tim to enjoy a nice weekend at a cabin on her dime, only meant that she had to convince Lexi. She knew Tim would go along. Piper had been a little more suspicious. Not as easily fooled as Lexi, but still a little afraid of Amelia, Piper had finally given in. Tony had been thrilled at the prospect of getting Piper away from her computer for a whole weekend.

Now, all that had to be checked off was four: Get them all to stay at the cabin once they figured out it would in fact be ALL of them staying… She'd have to get creative about hiding vehicles. But that was easily solved when Mitch got on board. He would stall Lexi at the bakery just long enough that she and Tim would arrive just after Piper and Tony.

Amelia had offered to drive Piper and Tony there in her car. She had to tease Piper about not running into town to use their internet, to make this excuse legit. Tony had, of course, agreed that it would be best if Amelia drove them there, then left them in the woods for two days. Piper was in all sincerity, a true blue city girl. Though she would constantly deny it. So that conversation had all gone according to plan. That Tony… He was so trusting.

She knew she wouldn't have to worry about Tim or Tony finding out they were going to the same cabin. They still weren't speaking to each other. Piper had given up on telling Lexi about any plans she made with Tony. And Lexi almost wasn't speaking to Piper unless there was someone else with them. This was another thing Amelia wanted to fix… Being the middle-man between everyone. It was annoying to no end.

She had gone a day ahead of everyone and stockpiled the cabin with food and supplies. The cabin was situated at the end of a three mile stretch of gravel road. The closest thing to a neighbor was an old ranger station that Amelia knew would be unmanned for the off season. Town was at least another four miles away. The cabin had two rooms, so she figured she would just take the couch. They would need her here as a mediator at least for the first day. Although it was going to be even more fun watching everyone fight over one tiny bathroom.

Yes… So much fun.

NCIS

Piper squealed in frustration for the fifth time since Tony had arrived at her apartment. He was fully packed with only one gym bag and she was still debating over an empty suitcase. As amusing as it was to watch her inner city girl come out, he was starting to get twitchy. Amelia would be here any minute to pick them up. He did not want to deal with an impatient pregnant woman, who already scared him.

"Baby, it'll just be us. You don't have to dress up for me." Tony tried not to sound like he was rushing her. "Just pack some jeans and a couple of tee-shirts."

"What about pajamas, or a bathing suit?" She was still going through her closet.

"I don't wear pajamas, and you don't need a bathing suit." She turned just long enough to glare at him before going back to her closet. "Well, maybe when Amelia gets here, she can help you pack…" And that did it. Suddenly Piper was throwing things into her suitcase. Tony just grinned.

NCIS

"I'm so sorry Tim, there's some kind of mix up with the schedule at the bakery. I have to go down and fix it." Tim clutched the phone as he maneuvered through D.C. traffic. Lexi sounded both annoyed and exhausted. Great way to start their romantic weekend.

"It's okay." He reassured her. "I'm not in a hurry." But he was. He wanted to get them both out of the city as soon as possible. He needed this just as much as she did.

"I'll try to get it done as quickly as I can." He could hear something in the background that told him she was already in the kitchen area.

"Want me to wait in the lobby?"

"Sure, have a cookie while you're there. I baked those peanut butter ones you like."

"Oooh, okay." Tim's voice brightened. "I'll be there soon."

"Love you."

"Love you, too." Tim hung up, smiling.

NCIS

Gibbs was enjoying his fourth cup of coffee. It wasn't often that he found himself sitting on his porch. But after the weird week he had… He could use a little R-&-R. The sky was orange and pink from the sunset. It was the first week of August, and already it was getting chilly. He figured by now, McGee and DiNozzo would be at the cabin with their girlfriends. He smirked at the thought. He would have loved to have been there to see the looks on their faces. But his absence was probably for the best. Once the fight broke out, he would probably be way too tempted to head-slap both of them into next month. And that wouldn't solve anything.

His train of thought slowed to a stop when he saw a slender figure walking towards him.

"Evening." A hesitant female voice greeted him.

"Evening." He called back. She came to a stop on the sidewalk.

"Um, I hate to bother you, but I was wondering if you might help me…" She took a few more steps and the light from Gibbs' porch gave him a better look at her. "I'm Chloe Hughes. I just moved in across the street. I'm doing some renovating and… Well, I lost the toolbox in the divorce." She chuckled quietly. "If it's not any trouble, could I borrow a step ladder and a Phillips-head screwdriver? I'll bring them right back. I just need to open my air vents." Gibbs smiled and stood up. The sudden movement caused her to flinch and step back.

"Sure, it's no trouble at all." He turned and went into the house. He thought she might follow, but she stayed where she was.

"I really appreciate this." Chloe said when Gibbs came back out with a small metal toolbox and a stepladder. She held her hands out and looked at him expectantly.

"I don't mind going over and helping you." He put on his best 'nice face' and smiled. She quickly returned his smile.

"Amelia said you'd be nice to me." Gibbs shook his head and chuckled. That woman was more diabolical than all of his ex-wives combined.

"Well, she was right." And boy, did she love to prove it…

Once inside the small house, Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "You've been busy." He muttered, looking around. All the wallpaper in the living room had been scrapped off. The carpeting and the linoleum all throughout the house had been torn up. The walls that weren't wallpapered had been scrubbed down.

"Yeah, working with a deadline was a motivator."

"Deadline?" Gibbs set the stepladder down under the vent in the living room.

"All my new flooring will be here Monday. I wanna put the wallpaper up and paint before then."

"All by yourself?" By now he was up the ladder, working to unscrew the vent.

"I don't have anything else scheduled. And like I said, deadlines." She shrugged. "I want to be completely done with the house by the time school starts."

"Teacher?"

"Yeah. History at Waverly."

"Hmm." He smiled. Attractive, single, and a History buff, he was starting to like this new neighbor. He may owe Amelia a thank you card. "I don't have anything scheduled this weekend either. If you want any help…" He looked down to see her staring at the wall. He could clearly see the inner debate she was having. She looked at him when she realized he had stopped talking.

"Sorry, I've never been good at asking for help."

"Well, you didn't ask. I offered." He smiled, again. "Tell you what, you buy the beer, I'll come over and help."

"Deal."

NCIS

"Wow, this really is the middle of nowhere." Piper grimaced from the passenger seat of Amelia's black Challenger. Tony was in the backseat. When Piper had called shotgun, he hadn't argued. She wasn't sure if it was because he really didn't want to spend an hour and a half long drive next to Amelia, or if he just wanted to annoy the hell out of her. He had spent most of the drive reaching up and tickling her sides.

"That's the beauty of it, my dear." Tony had leaned up again and was right next to her ear. "Just you and me, no phones, no internet, no other people."

"Yeah… Beauty." Piper rolled her eyes. All she saw was thick forest under a night sky. "Ow!" She yelled when a fist connected with her gut. She turned angrily to Amelia. "What the hell was that for?"

"Unappreciated sarcasm." Amelia replied in a cheery voice.

"Sarcasm? That's you, like _all the time_!" Amelia swung her arm out again, but Piper managed to defend her gut this time.

"So are we there yet?" Tony stuck his head between the two front seats. "I'm hungry. Is there food there?"

"Yup." Amelia still sounded cheerful. It was beginning to worry Piper. "And I'm staying for dinner tonight. I'm hungry too."

"You sure you can drive back tonight?" Piper asked. This time, it was Tony who hit her. Though his strike was a lot softer and landed on the back of her shoulder. She turned and shot him a glare.

"You know I'm a good night driver. Besides, you two will probably want to be alone."

"Yeah, Piper," Tony put his chin right next to her shoulder. "We probably want to be alone."

Not that you _will_ be… Amelia smiled to herself.

NCIS

"Thanks for stopping for takeout. I don't think I'd be up to cooking tonight." Lexi yawned as she spoke. Tim's hand crossed over the hand rest and landed on her arm. "And thanks for driving." They had opted to take her Xterra instead of Tim's little Porsche.

"It was no problem."

"What a day. I thought I'd never get outta there. I swear, I think Lulu and Mitch did that on purpose."

"Did what?"

"Well, first they lost the schedule. Then there was a huge mix up with a bunch of my cake orders. And then… My supply order got thrown away instead of faxed, and I had to recount my inventory and do the order all over again."

"Why couldn't they do all of that themselves?"

"Good question!"

"Okay, okay, just calm down." Tim ran his hand up and down her arm. "You won't have to worry about any of that until Monday. This weekend it's just us."

"You're right." She sighed. "And this is going to be the most romantic weekend either of us has ever had." She finally smiled. Her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She giggled and pulled it out.

**Text from Amelia: Why aren't you at the cabin yet? **

**From Lexi: How did you know I'm not there?**

**From Amelia: If you were, your phone would be off.**

**From Lexi: Oh, right. About ten miles out. **

**From Amelia: Why so late?**

**From Lexi: Don't ask. It's too sad to talk about. Thanx so much for this. I needed to get away.**

**From Amelia: Oh, you're welcome.**

Lexi smiled and put her phone away.

"Amelia wanted to check in." She explained when Tim looked at her.

"This was really nice of her. I think I may owe her an apology."

"For?"

"Well, I have been kind of an ass."

"To her? And you're still breathing?"

"Not to her directly. But I know she's been stressing about me and Tony. I get that she wants us all to get along… But it's so hard to trust Tony when it comes to people's feelings. I mean, in the field, he has my back and I have his, no question. But with matters of the heart, he's so flaky."

"He hasn't really been flaky with Piper. Truth be told, she's being the flaky one."

"How do you mean?"

"She's just… I dunno how to put it… Along for the ride." Tim sent her a perplexed look. "I don't think she really expects it to last. She's just enjoying it while she can. She hasn't outright said it, but Amelia has seen it too. Tony treats her like royalty, and she appreciates it, but it's like she keeps expecting the day to come when he stops calling."

"Wow… Talk about a role reversal. Do you think she really loves him though?"

"Oh, I know she does. But she's so used to disappointment, she just automatically expects it."

"Like you used to." Lexi nodded. "Well, we broke you of that. Maybe she can be helped too."

"Maybe…" Lexi cocked her head to the side.

Tim felt like kicking himself. Suddenly it wasn't Piper's feelings he was worried about.

NCIS

It had taken some doing, but Amelia had managed to stall Piper and Tony until she saw headlights flash through the front window.

"Who on earth could that be?" She mused out loud. Leaving Tony and Piper sitting on the couch, she rushed out the door.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Lexi called to her just as she stepped out of the passenger side door. Amelia went straight to Tim. He had Lexi's keys in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"You didn't have to meet us here. Your directions were perfect," Tim said, smiling down at her.

"Oh, it's no problem. I had to stock food and stuff for your stay." She deftly snatched Lexi's keys from him. "Here, let me help you unload."

"You don't have to." Tim followed her to the back of the Xterra.

"I don't mind at all! Let's get you two in before the werewolves come out."

"Werewolves?" Tim turned to Lexi.

"She's kidding." Lexi held up her hand dismissively.

Everyone grabbed a bag and went into the cabin. Amelia was in the front. She quickly shoved Lexi's keys in her pocket when she saw the front room empty. She could hear someone in the kitchen. A toilet flushing told her where her other captive could be found.

"Is Gavin here, too?" Lexi asked, still behind her.

"Um, actually." She turned to face Tim and Lexi. Lexi set her bag next to the unlit fireplace. Tim was just beside her. Tim's face went from confused to angry. Amelia turned towards the subject of his glare. Tony had just come out of the bathroom.

"What the hell is going on?" Amelia turned back to Tim. "What is he doing here?" Tim's demanding tone was expected, but still offended Amelia.

"Okay, listen," Amelia tried to keep everyone calm. By now Piper had joined them in the front room and was gaping at the scene in front of her.

"I wanna know what the hell is going on!" Tim shouted. Lexi flinched and stepped so she was half-way behind him.

"She's trying to tell you!" Tony shot back at him. He had gone to stand beside Piper. Now, Amelia was in between both couples.

"Hey," Tim took one step forward. "You back off."

"Me?"

"Both of you, stop." Lexi grabbed Tim's arm as she spoke up.

"Everyone, sit down and shut up!" Amelia's voice boomed throughout the cabin. Amelia sent a pointed glare to each of them. As her glare hit them, each of them sat down on the floor right where they were. Amelia rolled her eyes. "Sit on the furniture." Tony and Piper took the couch. Tim and Lexi squeezed onto the tiny loveseat near the fireplace. "Okay. I'm sure you know why I've gathered you all here."

"A fight to the death?" Tony smarted off. Piper slapped the back of her hand against his thigh, shutting him up.

"I'd win," Tim muttered. Amelia turned to him.

"I guess I'll start with you first." Tim's eyes widened when she loomed over him.

"What?" His voice was defensive.

"What? I'll tell you what. This is what, you selfish ass!" She took a breath gearing up for her rant. "You have spent so much time fighting with Tony about his relationship with Piper, that you've forgotten what's important! Lexi should be your main concern!"

"She is my main concern!" Tim stood up, feeling bold.

"Oh, really? When was the last time you two had a conversation that didn't turn into a rant about Tony?" Tim slapped his mouth shut and sat back down. "Ha! Caught you there, didn't I? And because you spend ever spare second painting Tony in this bad light, Lexi hasn't been able to make her own opinion of Tony. Is it any wonder that Piper thinks you control Lexi?" Tim shot an accusatory look at Piper. Piper just narrowed her eyes at him. "And have you even taken two seconds to ask Piper how Tony treats her? Or have you just kept on assuming Tony is still a total asshole?"

"Still?" Tony muttered. Piper nudged him, warning him to stay quiet. She was kind of enjoying this.

"You're ruining any chance that Lexi and Tony have of being friends. And don't you dare blame Tony if things go bad between you and Lexi!" Tim cocked his head like he wanted to speak, but he stayed silent. Amelia tried to keep her rant on track. The interruptions were getting annoying. "And you're putting a huge strain on Piper and Lexi's friendship, which is just pissing _me_ off!" Amelia stomped her foot. "Stop crying like five year old and let people form their own opinions!" Amelia got in Lexi's face.

"And you!" She waved her finger at Lexi. Lexi shrunk back against Tim. "I know you are gullible, practically helpless, and you have this huge fear of confrontation, but stop using the scared little girl excuse!" Tim opened his mouth to defend his girlfriend but Amelia slapped her hands together, warning him that she may slap him if he spoke. He closed his mouth and glared. "I know you've been hurt, and that still affects you, but you need to start making your own damn decisions and stop letting other people (she glared at Tim) make them for you! Dammit, Lexi, you're my little sister but sometimes I just wanna slap you. Stop being so scared of his reactions and stand up to your boyfriend. Tell him how much you hate it when he constantly complains about someone else's relationship, instead of just enjoying _your_ relationship!" Tim looked at Lexi in bewilderment. Lexi just stared at the floor, quickly turning red.

Amelia spun around and faced Tony and Piper. "Don't go thinking either or you are off the hook." Tony went from smirking, to scowling. He should have known this wasn't a one-sided intervention. "You," she pointed right at him. "You are doing the same dumbass thing he is doing. You won't let Piper near Tim. They can't be friends because you won't let them. All Piper knows about Tim is what you tell her. I assume it hasn't all been good." Tony looked away from her. "Uh, huh, I figured. And again, you spending so much time trying to ignore Tim and Lexi has caused some issues with you and Piper." Tony's face hardened. How the hell did she know all this? He looked at Piper. Like Lexi, she had her eyes on the floor. "And by the way, when you told Tim that he was the reason you and Piper got together, you were wrong. He just asked you to be her date once. I was the one who practically guided you through the Piper handbook of dating." Tony fought not to smirk. This was so hilarious but so annoying at the same time. "So don't you go blaming him if you screw things up with her! If you say it's his fault, I will beat you into your grave." Tony believed her.

"And you!" Piper's head shot up. She knew it was her turn.

"Wait, what did I do?" She asked defensively.

"Nothing!" Piper cocked her head at Amelia. "And that's the problem! Stop being such a pansy!" Piper's mouth fell open. "Ball up and tell Tim what a jerk you think he is!" Piper saw Tim flinch. "And tell Tony how you _really_ feel!"

"How do you really feel?" Tony asked her. His voice was hard but his eyes were scared.

"What are you talking about?" Piper directed her question at Amelia.

"You forget sweetie, I see _everything_." Amelia put her hands on her hips. "You're content. Not happy, not thrilled, just content. You refuse to let yourself be happy! Why? Because you think it will all end tomorrow? If you let yourself be happy, then it will hurt twice as much when he leaves you, which you seem convinced he will do!" Piper's eyes widened. She had to resist the urge to look at Tony. This was the one thing she was keeping from him, and now he knew. "Pie, you can't expect everyone you love to let you down. And I know how much you love him. Living with disappointment may be the easy way, but you will only end up alone, if you let yourself. So again, ball up and stop being content."

There was a beat of silence as everything sunk in. Then Amelia finished her rant. "You are all staying the weekend here and working out your crap. I even got Gibbs in on this." Tony and Tim both blanched. "Yeah, he's sick of the fighting too. How do you think you managed to get the whole weekend off? I'm leaving and I'm taking all the car keys with me."

"Hey, wait a minute?" Tim stood up. "What if I don't wanna share a roof with him?" He pointed at Tony.

"Well I'd say that's too freaking bad." Amelia sounded oddly calm. "Cause according to Gibbs, it's either this, or he's going to lock all of you in his basement for two days."

"There's no bathroom in his basement." Tony sounded horrified.

"Then I guess you best stay here." Amelia started losing her patience again.

"Wait, you think you can just call us all out in front of each other and then leave?" Piper stood up and faced her friend. "You think it's okay to drop a nuke and then dodge?" Her sneer made Amelia want to hit her.

"Uh, yeah! Somebody needed to say it out loud! None of you would!"

"How could you do this?" Lexi came up behind Amelia. "You just screamed about us sabotaging our own relationships, but you just spill out all these secrets? You're sabotaging more than we were!"

"Hey, wait a damn minute!" Amelia held up her hands. "How did this suddenly become all _my _fault?"

"Well," Now, Tim was speaking. "You did lie to us to get us all here and then, like Piper said, dropped a nuke."

"This was for your own damn good!" Amelia held her position firmly.

There was a knock at the front door. Amelia trudged across the room, still fuming with anger. She

wrenched open the door, ready to yell at whoever was on the other side. Then stopped abruptly when she saw a familiar metal object only inches from her nose…

She said the first thing that came to her mind… "Gun barrels look so much bigger up close."


	3. Chapter 3

Amelia said the first thing that came to her mind… "Gun barrels look so much bigger up close."

"Get back!" A desperate male voice yelled at her. "Get back into the house!" Amelia instinctively put her hands up and took four steps back. Once back inside, she could see that the man was average height and build. He had a scruffy, unkempt look to him. All of her impulses told her to strike out at him, but it wasn't just her life she would be risking. And this guy was definitely hyped up on something.

"Oh, my God…" She heard Lexi mutter behind her. No doubt by now, Lexi had gone to hide behind Tim. Amelia wasn't sure if Piper would hide behind Tony, or the other way around. The fact that she was able to clearly process all of this told her… Yes, she really was as abnormal and calculating as everyone said. But they would thank her for it later… They better.

"Look, if you need help, you don't need a gun." Her voice came out low and strong. "Just don't hurt my friends." Yes, they better thank her for this.

"Shut up!" He yelled at her again. She was starting to take offense to this.

"Look, man." Tony stepped forward. Amelia let her head turn just enough to see that Lexi was in fact behind Tim. Piper had moved to stand next to Tim. Tony was just in front of Piper. "Just tell us what you want."

'Oh Tony,' Amelia thought to herself. 'Just keep your mouth shut.'

"I need money! Give me all your cash!" Tim and Tony immediately pulled out their wallets. "You!" The gun was once again shoved in Amelia's face. "Get their wallets and bring them to me!" Amelia grudgingly did as she was told. Just as she handed over the wallets, the man grabbed her arm and twisted her, so she was facing away from him. Then he forced her back against him. He held his gun hand out, pointed right at Tony's head.

"Let her go." Piper tried to step forward as she spoke but Tony swung his arm out, stopping her. "Just let her go and you can have a car."

"Give me the keys!" He shook Amelia and screamed.

"I have them." Amelia dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out both sets of keys. She let them all drop to the floor.

"Pick them up!" She stiffened when the gun was promptly shoved into her back. "Now!" Amelia kept her eyes on her friends as she bent down. When her hand made contact with something fuzzy, she knew she had her keys. Straightening back up, she sent a wink at Piper. Piper cocked her head forward slightly. Amelia hoped it was confirmation that Piper knew Lexi's keys were still on the floor, not just Piper being confused. "You're coming with me." Amelia felt her hair being pulled and instinctively fought against it.

"Now, wait a minute." Tony took another step towards them. "Just let her go, and you can walk out of here."

"Don't come any closer!" The gun was pointing at Tony again.

"Look, just let her go."

"Tony, back off!" Amelia yelled her warning. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her captor's hand squeeze the gun grip. "No!" She blindly jabbed with her elbow, and was relieved when it sunk into his abdomen, causing his aim to falter. The bullet tore high through Tony's shoulder. Tony fell back.

The shrill ringing in her ears caused Amelia's mind to spin out of focus for several seconds. By the time she got her bearings back, she was outside and being thrown against the side of her car.

"Unlock it!"

She blinked and shakily hit the button on her key set that would unlock the door. The keys were snatched away from her and she was unceremoniously shoved into the back seat, on the driver's side. Just as her head came up, she saw Tim and Piper running out of the cabin. The tires skidded on the dirt driveway and she was jostled back down against the seat. The last thing that registered in her mind was a sharp pain as her forehead connected with the door.

NCIS

Piper looked around her, in a daze. The ER waiting room was packed full of police, FBI, and NCIS. Tim was sitting in a corner with Lexi almost in his lap, talking to Gibbs. Ziva had long since gone into Tony's exam room to question him. Someone named Fornell had just handed her a coffee and sat in a chair next to her. His jacket decal said FBI, but Piper had seen him talking to Gibbs earlier, like they knew each other.

"Miss, Brooks," Fornell grabbed Piper's attention. His tone was sympathetic, but still all business. How did cops do that?

"Yes?" Her mouth finally decided to work.

"You told one of the other agents that you didn't recognize the man?"

"Right?" And there was another thing cops did that confused her. They all asked the same questions a hundred damn times.

"Can you describe him to me?" She had already given his description four times. She had it memorized by now.

"Maybe 5'9'', not built, but not slender, shaggy, sandy brown hair, cut kinda short, stubble, dirty, like he hadn't bathed in a while. He was wearing jeans that were torn at the knees, a blue plaid shirt, unbuttoned with a white tee shirt underneath. His hiking boots were really muddy, but the mud was dry. He had a tan line on his forehead like he wears a hat a lot, or maybe he just got a hair cut. And there was a scar on his left cheek, across his cheekbone."

Fornell sat back in his chair, looking mildly impressed. "That's one hell of a detailed description. Most people only see the gun."

"It was a small glock, possibly a nine millimeter." Fornell's eyes bulged for a second. "I used to own one. I had to sell it when my mom moved in." He nodded, understanding crossing his face.

"Are you the baker girlfriend?"

"No, I'm the photographer girlfriend."

"That explains the eye for detail." Fornell smiled and stood up. "If you remember anything else, let me know. You've been the most helpful one so far." He turned to walk away.

"Can I see Tony?" Fornell stopped and eyed her for a second.

"I'll see what I can do." He walked away and Piper happily slipped back into her daze.

NCIS

Amelia shook herself out of the fuzzy darkness that had overcome her. Her right hand came up and gingerly touched the bump on her forehead. That was gonna leave a mark. Before she let her hand drop, she glanced at her watch. She had been out for maybe two hours. Either she was exhausted, or that hit to the head was harder than she thought. Her captor still had his attention on the road. Amelia brought her head up just enough to see that they were on a paved road in the middle of nowhere. All she saw through the darkness on either side of the car were fields dotted occasionally with trees.

How the hell was she going to get out of this?

"Uhg." She hadn't meant to do that out loud. Her captor, who in her mind she had nicknamed Shaggy, suddenly turned in his seat and glared at her. She sent a glare right back at him.

"Lay down!"

Amelia bristled at his tone, but laid back down across the seat. If this was a movie, what would the badass chick do right about now? But she wasn't a badass chick. She was a pregnant chick. Pregnant badass chick… Pregnant… Amelia smiled as an idea formed in her mind.

"Ah!" She cried out so loudly that Shaggy swerved the car. "Ah!" She put both hands on her stomach. "Oh my God!"

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Amelia sat up in the middle of the seat.

"Oh God! Not now!"

"What?"

Amelia's eyes searched for the gun. She let out another wail and bent forward slightly to get a better view of the front seat. The gun was in between Shaggy's legs. "No, I can't have my baby now!"

"What? You better not be going into labor!"

"Oh, God, my baby!" She tried concentrating on her act but the realization that this idiot couldn't tell a five month pregnant belly from a nine month pregnant belly, made her want to laugh. "My baby, please!"

"No freaking way!" The car came to an abrupt stop, sending Amelia forward, between the two front seats. When she finally righted herself, Shaggy was already puling open the back door and grabbing at her. "You wanna have your baby, you can do it out here!"

Amelia backed herself against the other door and tried to get it opened. Shaggy had his upper half in the backseat with her, still trying to pull her out. Amelia brought her leg up and kicked at him as hard as she could. She wasn't exactly aiming, but somehow her foot connected right in the middle of his face. She could have sworn she heard his nose crunch. The other door finally opened and Amelia spilled out onto the pavement. She was surprised Shaggy wasn't coming at her anymore. She bent down and saw him sprawled out, still half in the backseat.

Great… She was never going to get that blood off her seats.

Acting quickly, she ran to the driver's side and popped the trunk. When she crossed to the back of the car, she heard Shaggy groan. She smiled when she opened the big tool box in the trunk. Her friends had called her over-prepared and paranoid for carrying an industrial sized roll of hospital tape in her car. Well, they were going to hear about this… If she ever spoke to them again, that was.

Amelia taped his wrists behind his back. Then wrapped tape around his arms and back. After she managed to shove his legs into the car, she finished by taping his ankles together. She took a moment to rest when she finally sat in the driver's seat. After several cleansing breaths, she flipped on her navigation system.

Yes, she was a badass pregnant chick. Why weren't there more of those in movies?

NCIS

Gibbs looked around him and scowled. This was supposed to be a stress free weekend. Well, for him anyways…

When he went home Friday afternoon, all that was on his mind was the beer his new neighbor had promised him. After helping Chloe paint and wallpaper her small house, the two had retired to her back porch for beer and BBQ sandwiches. They were working out a schedule for putting down her flooring, and Gibbs had seen some plumbing problems he could fix for her, when his cell rang. After explaining the situation to Chloe, and promising her an update when he knew something, he headed to the hospital where Tony had been treated for his gunshot.

Now, they were all scattered around the bullpen, back at the Navy yard. Lexi and Piper were huddled together in chairs near McGee's desk. Neither had said much since they got here. McGee was at his computer, cycling through face recognition using the computer composite of the kidnapper Piper had helped render. Tony was at his desk, his left arm in a sling, having a hushed phone conversation.

Ziva came rushing into the bullpen, followed closely by Gavin Shorne. Gibbs came up out of his chair and greeted the younger Marine.

"Any news on my wife?" Gavin asked anxiously.

"Boss," Tony hung up the phone and stood. Gavin and Gibbs both turned to faced him. "Local LEOs just confirmed, our kidnapper is escaped convict Jason Krebs. He was convicted of multiple murder. He escaped when the bus transporting him crashed. No one knew he got away until they did their official body count and came up missing one."

"Any clue where he might be headed?" Gibbs asked.

"He has a sister in Huntington, West Virginia. No other family. But it's anyone's guess." Tony looked at Gavin. "I wish I could tell you more."

"Amelia's strong. I know she's okay." Gavin kept level eye-contact with Tony. But his voice shook just a little. Tony desperately tried to think of something to say that might make everyone feel better.

"Well, knowing her…" Tony shrugged. "She's probably already strangled the guy and is on her way here with his unconscious body."

"Actually," Everyone turned at the familiar female voice. "I kicked his face."

There stood Amelia flanked by two security guards, with her hands behind her back. Gavin made a guttural noise and ran to his wife. He wrapped his arms around her, but then jumped back suddenly.

"Why is my wife in handcuffs?" He roared at the nearest security guard.

"She had a dead guy in her backseat." The guard defended himself.

"He's not dead. How many times do I have to tell you." She rolled her eyes. This was the second time she was in the bullpen for beating someone unconscious. Starting to get old…

"Sure looked dead." The guard muttered.

"Hey," Gibbs barked out. "Get her outta those, now! She's the one who was kidnapped, you idiot!"

Amelia just stood there, looking at the floor, while the handcuffs were quickly taken off of her. When Gavin wrapped himself around her the second time, she barely moved in response. Gibbs watched and for the first time that night, his faced softened.

"Mrs. Shorne," His low voice finally brought her head up. "Do you feel up to giving me a statement? This isn't anything that can't wait until tomorrow."

"Just… Now. Get it… Over with." She shook her head and brought her wrists up in front of her. Her thumbs traced ugly red lines on both her wrists.

"What did that?" Gavin was suddenly taking her wrists in his hands and kissing them. "Did that asshole tie you up?"

"No… The cuffs. I was trying to get out of them. I don't like being bound."

"You tried to get out of handcuffs?" Gavin's voice was both bewildered and angry. Amelia just shrugged.

"Why don't you have a seat." Gibbs led her to his desk chair. He quickly pulled up two more chairs for Gavin and himself.

Ziva had gone by now to arrange transport for their prisoner. Tony pushed his chair over to McGee's desk where everyone else sat and tried to listen in on Amelia's escape story. She was just loud enough that they caught about every other word. Piper and Lexi traded looks with each other when they heard, "faked labor pains," and, "kicked his face as hard as I could." Tony had to stifle his own laughter when he heard, "used hospital tape." When all was said and done, Amelia just stood up and looked at Gavin. Lexi knew this look. There would be no talking to her right now. But of course, no one else knew that.

"Amelia…" Tim faltered when she turned her deadpan stare in his direction. "Can I offer you a ride home?"

"I'm taking my wife home, thank you." Gavin glared at Tim.

"Is there anything we can do for…" Tim trailed off again.

"I don't need anything from you." Amelia's monotone voice made Lexi's eyes bulge. "I don't need anything from any one of you." She looked right at Tim. "I don't need sympathy." Her eyes shifted to Tony. "I don't need a wanna be hero jumping at me." Now to Piper. "I don't need a shoulder to cry on." And finally Lexi got hers. "Or any help when I actually do have my baby." Lexi let out a whimper. Her God-mother rights had just been revoked. How had that happened? "I just need to be left alone." She turned and headed for the elevator. Gavin looked around at his friends and shook his head before following his wife.

"I don't need anything from you right now either." Gibbs' voice snapped at everyone. The look of utter disappointment on Gibbs' face left Tim and Tony both feeling about two inches tall. "Have your reports on my desk by the end of Monday. I expect you all to fix this. But right now, get out of here. I don't wanna see any of you."

NCIS

Piper stayed quiet as she dragged herself out of the backseat of Lexi's Xterra. She was surprised when Lexi had offered to let everyone crash at her apartment. Someone from NCIS had brought all of their weekend luggage from the cabin to the Navy yard. But when they got to Lexi's place, no one really wanted to lug anything upstairs.

Lexi and Tim headed straight to her room. Piper turned to a weary looking Tony and tried to force a smile. It wasn't working.

"There's a futon in the spare room." She pointed to the door leading off from the kitchen.

"You take it." Tony answered her with a shrug. "I got the couch." His serious and slightly sad tone shot her worry meter up.

"It might be better if you take the futon." She shifted on her feet. "You're hurt. I can take the couch."

"No." He was already kicking off his shoes and setting himself down on the couch. He didn't bother changing out of his clothes. "I'm good here."

A fear that Piper had never felt before was beginning to creep up her spine.

"Are you… Mad at me?" Her voice came out sounding so tiny. Tony looked up from his relaxed position and scrunched his eyebrows together.

"No. I'm just tired." Without another word, Piper turned and slowly entered the spare room.

(A.N. Sorry too short. Darkened Shadows is co-authoring this with me. She finished this chapter but I put her half up as the next chapter.)


	4. Chapter 4

**((This entire chapter was written by Darkened Shadows. Thanx so much for being my partner in crime here! Posted it seperate to give you all the kudos! Much Love!))**

Amelia laid still, listening intently to the sounds around her. She winced slightly when the feet of the unborn child in her womb stretched into her ribcage, reminding her that she was not lucky enough to get sleep quite yet. Not that sleep had ever come easily to her before…

A soft whuffling snore followed by a muffled grumble ensured her that Gavin was deep asleep. With a soft, almost soundless sigh, Amelia shifted slowly until her feet touched the floor and padded out of their bedroom, pulling the door mostly closed behind her. Once she was in the living room, she turned on the lamp and stared at the object in her hand: her cell phone.

There was a spot of blood on the screen, causing her to smile wryly. She'd probably still had blood on her hands after she'd handed that kidnapper's ass to him on a platter. She couldn't even properly remember his name – either she hadn't been listening when Jethro told her or she had never been told to begin with. It hadn't been too difficult to get the upper hand in that situation, though she was sure she would be hearing some choice words from her obstetrician in the future.

That was not to say she hadn't heard some choice words recently.

Amelia had never been fond of being yelled at, though her own aversion wasn't nearly as intense as Lexi's. However, even worse than being accused of sabotaging their relationships was the glares they had been directing at her throughout her entire rant in the cabin. Everything she had said had needed to be known and if airing their dirty laundry was the way to do it, she was always the one strong enough to do it.

Raising her eyes to the mantle of the faux-fireplace that served as the centerpiece of their living room, she focused on one of the pictures in the center. It was of her, Lexi, and Piper and had been taken a couple weeks after the end of Lexi's last long-term relationship. Mitch had tagged along as their so-called "man company" to ward off potential suitors and was the one that had taken the picture. They had been wandering around on the waterfront being comfortingly non-relationship-like when she had finally succeeded in getting her best friend to smile in that exact moment. It was a classic Kodak moment.

Though the smile still graced her face, she could feel the familiar wetness mark her face. Tears. _So stupid,_ she thought, not even bothering to wipe them away just yet. The waterworks were just beginning and it would be counterproductive to wipe them away. Even so, she could feel her hands lift to scrub at her cheeks, erasing the moisture that seemed so far out of her character.

Oh, how she hated to cry.

Squeezing her eyes closed to wring out the last layer of tears, Amelia stood up from the couch, leaving her cell phone behind. Grabbing the remote from the matching loveseat to turn on the television, she changed the channel to a jazz satellite radio station and tuned the volume low enough that it wouldn't disturb her husband's slumber. Her body swaying to the gentle rhythm of the music, she moved to the kitchen to retrieve a silver kettle from one of the lower cupboards.

Arching an eyebrow at the container as she filled it with water, she cast a glance at the hallway that led to the bedroom. Would the whistle be too loud? After a moment, she shook her head but didn't cap the kettle so that the whistle would be lower in volume. Either way, Gavin was down for the count. Worry did that to him, something Amelia felt a little guilty about. If only her need to get out of the cabin hadn't been so strong, if only Tony hadn't done the headlong agent-bullrush, if only everyone hadn't been such idiots to begin with…

Well, it wouldn't do to play the wishing game, she admitted to herself as she pulled down a box of chamomile teabags from an upper shelf. Opening the cupboard near her, she stared at the baking soda and cocoa powder, debating if she was likely to stay awake long enough to make a devil's food cake from scratch.

Just as she was reaching for the can of cocoa powder, she heard the surprisingly loud sound of her ring tone among the quiet she'd been trying to maintain. It wasn't the annoying ring tone she assigned to her mother or the funny ring tones she sometimes assigned her friends; it was her generic ring tone, which was always her favorite song for the time being: Die Young, by Ke$ha. Who in the world would be calling her at… she glanced at the nearest wall clock, four in the morning?

With quick strides, Amelia cut across the kitchen and leaned over the sofa to snatch her phone, frowning at the way the five-month baby bump impeded her. She looked at the number that blinked across the screen, only slightly appeased to know that it was a local number. After quickly weighing the options of wrong number versus prank caller, she slid her thumb across the screen and held the device to her ear. "Hello?" she answered, injecting a healthy dose of irritation into her tone.

"Amelia?" The man on the other end of the phone sounded slightly uncertain, almost as if he would be highly embarrassed if it was some other pregnant woman he was waking up.

"Oh, Jethro, hi." She sighed, some of the tension dropping from her shoulders. "Did I forget something on the statement? I thought I told you everything."

"You did," he assured her immediately. "At least everything that had to do with the kidnapping."

Hearing the low whistle of her now heated water, she moved back to the kitchen, moving the kettle to an unheated burner and pulling a mug from yet another cupboard. "You want to know about what happened at the cabin." For anyone else, it would have been a question but Amelia didn't need to ask. "What did they tell you?"

"There was some yelling, mostly on your side. I figured they were downplaying it some," he added after a brief moment.

"Well, I did yell. Quite a bit." Amelia paused, grinning in bemusement at the memory before the following memories intruded on her momentary good mood. "It wasn't that bad," she assured him, her tone going flat.

On the other end of the line, Gibbs sighed a long-suffering sigh. "You revoked Lexi's godmother rights, Amelia. That sounds pretty bad."

"You knew about that? About Lexi being the godmother?" she asked the former Marine, her voice hitching slightly at her friend's name.

"Yeah. Tim was vicariously happy about it before he started getting all unreasonable."

Amelia snickered, noting that the big bad Marine tended to talk like his favorite forensic scientist when he relaxed his guard just a little bit. "I told some of the things they'd been keeping quiet. I should have expected them to turn on me like they did. The hormones probably made it seem worse than it was," she admitted softly, fiddling with her teabag as she finally settled back on the couch.

"What did they say?"

Amelia laughed but the sound held no humor. "Lexi said I was sabotaging their relationships and Piper compared what I said to dropping a nuke on them."

"What about DiNozzo and McGee?"

"They didn't say anything." Gibbs sighed in relief and she continued before he could start to feel too proud of his protégés. "Just glared at me with the hate of a thousand suns." She sighed. "I understand that they don't get me. Hell, Lexi's known me for over ten years and she still doesn't always… God, I overreacted, didn't I?"

There was a brief moment of silence as Gibbs weighed what he knew of the situation. "If I was them, I'd say yes." Amelia sighed, nodding to herself. "But if I'd been in your place, I might have shot one of them." She scoffed at his candor, the sound turning into a muffled laugh.

Shaking her head, she took a sip of her tea. "I shouldn't have said the things I said. It was unfair."

Another silence met her words and Amelia knew exactly what he was thinking, for she had thought it enough when she was cursing her friends as she was held hostage in her own car by a guy that didn't seem to have a problem with shooting a pregnant woman in the head. All of them – Lexi, Piper, Tim, Tony – had been unfair to her situation, a pregnant military spouse that had taken it on herself to solve their problems for them. In fact, it had been Gibbs himself that had suggested that she leave them alone together without a way to leave instead of staying and helping them walk through this particular rough patch.

"You've forgiven them already, haven't you?"

Amelia released a short bark of laughter. "I'm being the bigger person, yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I know why they did it. They may not know me, Jethro, but I know them and I get it." Downing the dregs of her tea, she stood to serve herself another mugful. "This will pass and the pain will fade."

"How can you be so forgiving?" he asked, trying to wrap his mind around the subject.

Amelia chuckled, watching in distant interest as the cloud of chamomile spread through the hot water. "I saw this on the Internet once: I'm mature enough to forgive them but not dumb enough to trust them. Yet," she added as an afterthought. "I can't let one bad night erase all the good memories I have of them."

"Tell me about them, your good memories," Gibbs said, pitching his soft voice just shy of inquiry.

"You sure? You've got to have better things to do than listen to that."

He chuckled, seeing the wisdom in her words. "If Shannon was the standard for pregnant women, I have to assume you won't sleep anyway, not until you work all the bad feelings out."

"Wow, Jethro. That's surprisingly Zen of you."

"We all have our hidden facets." Amelia could almost hear the smirk in his words.

She nodded to herself then. "You know that I knew Lexi before her dad died, right?" Gibbs grunted softly, giving an affirmative to her question. "We met sophomore year of high school when our school shadowed a local vocational and/or technical school. Bonded over the pointlessness of it, I guess." She laughed softly. "Turned out, her dad knew my grandpa."

"He did? How?"

"My grandpa was Army Reserve and served in World War II and the Korean Conflict. He loved to recruit the young'uns when and wherever he could. Anyway, she was so happy back then and they were so close, too close maybe."

"What do you mean?" The older man's voice tilted toward hardened concern.

Amelia stared at the window over the sink, staring into the darkness on the other side of the glass but seeing instead the many memories of Lexi, both before and after her father's death. "His dying… it nearly broke her. She certainly didn't make the best choices after. Ever since…" She paused, sighing. "She's developed a guilt complex. But I have this memory of her big smile every time she baked something new for him. For a long time, I thought I'd never see that smile again."

"But you did?" he asked gently.

"Tim really is good for her," she replied, the statement seeming like a non sequitur but both knowing it wasn't, not really.

"What about Piper?" the master interrogator asked. "How did you meet her?"

Amelia finally turned away from the window, using a small teaspoon to stir the contents of her tea evenly. "It was a couple of years ago. The bakery had just broke even and I was telling Lexi ways to promote it, mainly so that it was more than me, her, and Mitch. She hired Piper, who I knew nothing about."

"I bet that didn't make you happy," he remarked.

"Oh, you," she growled playfully, the malice somewhat undercut by her laughter. "As soon as she walked in, I knew it was the photographer. She didn't have that hungry look people get when they walk into Lexi's shop, just calculating like she was already planning out the pictures in her head. I scared her a little when I told her I knew she wasn't there for cake. After that, we kind of clicked."

"Clicked?" Gibbs echoed skeptically.

"Okay, fine," Amelia muttered. "I ingratiated myself a little bit. Despite that big wall she likes to keep up, Piper's pretty easy to read. Little girl complex, inferiority complex, afraid to let anyone in, little bit of a bitch sometimes."

"God, you sound like a psychologist."

"You see the same stuff," she accused softly.

A brief moment of silence followed in which Amelia could feel the exhaustion sweep over her again, her eyelids drifting shut. "I've been wondering about something," he started.

"What?" she asked, muffling a yawn somewhat successfully.

"You've taken down two guys now with relatively little effort. Are you trained?"

"I guess you could say that." Amelia sat up straight, stretching her neck to the side. "After all that Derrick mess was over junior year of college, Lexi got the bright idea to start taking self-defense. What she didn't realize was that it was a real dojo. I stuck with it and she didn't. I'd gotten a brown belt in jiu jitsu before life got in the way. I never went back to the dojo but my body remembers how to fight." She frowned slightly when her phone beeped loudly in her ear. Pulling it away from her face, she looked at the new caller that was calling her at… A glance to the clock revealed it to be six o'clock. Camilla Jackson. Great. "Hey, Jethro, gotta go."

"Alright. Call if you need anything." Amelia smirked slightly to herself as she switched the call over. She was relatively sure he wouldn't make that offer to just anyone.

"Millie?"

"Mel, hey." Amelia hated the battalion commander's wife's nickname for her but she endured it all the same. "I heard you were kidnapped."

She arched an eyebrow. Millie always had the weirdest ways of starting a conversation. "I was. I'm back home now."

"Oh? I figured you'd be at a hospital. Trauma and all that, you know."

"Oh, no. Not a scratch. I'm fine."

"Okay. Well, Matt just called me." Oh, that couldn't be good. "He said they need Gavin back out there. Something about being without their Mr. Fix-It, I guess?"

"Oh. Okay. I'll wake him up. Tell Matt to give him a couple hours."

"I will." There was a slight pause and Amelia instinctively knew that she was about to ask something else. "So, brunch today?"

"Millie, I haven't slept since sometime early yesterday. I wouldn't be the best company."

"Tomorrow, then," she replied with certainty.

Amelia sighed, knowing that she would have to give in. Ever since she'd gotten pregnant, Millie had taken a keen interest in her. "Okay. We can try that bistro in the Navy Yard you've been talking about, okay?"

"Right, okay. Sleep well." Without another word, the connection ended but it didn't bother Amelia. Millie was much like her mother that way, never actually saying goodbye.

Cell phone in hand, Amelia began walking back to the bedroom, sighing slightly in irritation when the device buzzed. It was a text message. If it was Lexi or Piper… She didn't finish the thought, never knowing what her sleep-deprived pregnancy hormones had planned for her friends.

The number was unknown but local. When she looked at the message itself, she laughed, realizing it was from Jethro.

**Chloe is nice. You've got a good eye… Matchmaker.**


	5. Chapter 5

**((Another short chapter, but more to come, I promise!))**

Tony popped up at the sound of the front door closing. He immediately regretted it. Pain shot through his left side, making him grind his teeth. His head swiveled around Lexi's living room and he caught sight of everyone's luggage sitting in the corner near the door. Had McGee brought everything up?

Tony stood and let his body stretch. The motion made him realize he had to pee. He knew he had to go through one of the bedrooms to get to the bathroom…

But which one?

The thought of walking in on McGee's girlfriend in a possibly compromising position, was just too much for him. So he sucked it up, and went through the spare room. He rushed though the small room as fast as he could without waking Piper. He wasn't sure he was ready to see her. She would want to talk. When he got to the bathroom, he went about his business. He was about to open the door to leave when the door to Lexi's room swung open. McGee was standing there in nothing but gray sweats.

"Uh…" Tony scratched his head. "Morning."

"Morning." Sleepy McGee greeted him back.

"Uh, did you bring up the bags?"

"No, I just woke up."

"Did Lexi?"

"No, she's still in bed."

"Oh." Damn, that meant Piper was up. Or maybe she left… He wasn't sure why, but that sudden thought really bothered him.

"Tony…"

"Yeah?"

"I kinda gotta…" McGee pointed at the toilet.

"Right." Tony shook his head and quickly left.

Once back in the spare room, he found that the futon was already folded back up. The sheets had been stripped off and shoved into the hamper near the door. Tony sighed and went back into the front room. Piper's big green suitcase was still there.

What the hell? Where was she?

On an impulse, he opened the front door and stepped into the outer hall. As soon as he saw Piper sitting at the top of the carpeted stairs, his heart rate slowed.

"Hi." Her greeting was quiet and apprehensive.

"Hi." He sat beside her, putting his good shoulder closest to her. The narrow stairs caused their thighs to be pushed together. "What are you doing out here?"

"I, um, was waiting for you."

"Out here?"

"I was afraid you were mad at me."

"You thought I'd take off." She nodded. "I thought about it. But then when I didn't find you… I thought you left. It made me kinda mad."

"Does that mean you actually _want_ to talk?"

"I think we need to." He paused for a second. He wanted to take her hand and hold on to it, but another part of him was still angry. "I feel…" He sighed again. "Kinda betrayed." Her eyes shot to his face. "You told me you'd give me a chance. But you didn't really give me one. It's not taking a chance when you're just expecting it to crumble. I'm supposed to be the one with commitment issues, not you."

"I would apologize, but I'm not sure how much bearing that would hold. I'm not sorry for protecting myself. But I never wanted to hurt you. I am sorry for that. But I won't tell you something nice just to make you feel better."

Tony nodded. "I can respect that. And I appreciate the honesty."

"Is this the part where we ask to stay friends?" She was looking away from him again.

"You think I came out here to break up with you?"

"Didn't you?" Her eyes were back on him.

"I don't know." He almost laughed. "I admit, I am still kinda mad that I poured my heart out and let you in, just to find out you were still hiding behind your wall… I still love you, Piper." He brushed his hand across her cheek. "I get that you want to protect yourself. But I can't invest my feelings into a relationship unless you can do the same."

"It's not something I can do overnight."

"I know that. I'm willing to wait until you figure things out for yourself. But until you do, I think we need to back off a little."

"So… What does that mean? Are we breaking up?" Her voice hitched with panic.

"Not really breaking up, just figuring things out. You need to figure out if I'm what you really want. And I need to know you can commit to this."

"Okay." She took a breath. "So, we're just taking time."

"As much as you need. I'm not going anywhere. So, no rush."

Piper leaned back and yelled at Lexi's front door. "Did you catch all that?" Tony shifted just in time to see a flash of gray moving away from the half-open door. He turned back to Piper, still smiling.

"Damn, did we have an audience that whole time?"

"I dunno. You left the door open, not me."

"Was it both of them?"

"I only saw Tim." She paused and swallowed. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Come on." She stood and held her hand out to him. "Let's go get some muffins and coffee from downstairs. Lexi just had an espresso machine put in."

"Have to admire a woman with food on her mind."

They both headed down the stairs. This conversation was far from over, but they knew they were both too exhausted to go into it right now. But Piper knew things had to get better from here.

"Damn it!" Piper stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Tony turned to her, looking confused. "She did it! She did it again! Damn her!"

"Who?"

"Amelia! She did it! She made us talk!" Tony cracked up laughing, immediately understanding what Piper meant.

"Now, we really owe her."

"Yes, damn it!"

NCIS

Tim was shaking his head and chuckling when he opened Lexi's bedroom door. His face dropped when he saw Lexi sitting up in bed with her arms curled around her legs. Her face was a mixture of regret and fear.

"You okay?" Tim asked once he sat beside her.

"I messed up bad, didn't I?"

"She'll forgive you." He tried to reassure her by wrapping himself around her.

"She shouldn't. I've never been there for her like she has for me. There's so much you don't know about us. We don't talk about it except with each other. I'd be surprised if she ever spoke to me again."

"Was what you said to her really _that _bad?"

"You don't understand… It wasn't what I said. It's what I didn't say." Tim pulled back but kept one arm around her shoulders. "She did this for us. She did it to make us happy, to help us. And instead of a thank you, she got a _screw you_. After everything she's done for me, for all of us, we just gave her the preverbal finger."

"She could have gone about it better. I mean honestly, kidnapping all of us like that…" Lexi broke free of his grip and stood up on the other side of the bed. "What?"

"Can you honestly sit there and tell me that you learned nothing from last night?" She glared down at him.

"Was I supposed to? I figured it was more for Tony and Piper, than us. I mean, you should have heard them talking just now."

"You really think they were the only ones with problems?"

"Yes." He stood up. "There's nothing wrong with our relationship. If anything, they should learn from us!"

"Learn from us? Learn what, how to live in a freaking bubble of denial?"

"What?"

"Tim… Amelia was right. I _do_ let you make all of my decisions. I did the same thing I always do. I let the guy take control."

"I don't control you." Tim crossed his arms.

"Yes you do, but only because I don't give you any other choice. I _make_ you, make every decision about us. I never speak up about what I want. That's my fault." Tim looked away, his face scrunched up in anger. "When we first started dating, I told you about my fear of confrontation. I warned you, everyone did, that I have problems speaking up. All you kept saying was how strong you thought I was."

"You are strong." He faced her again.

"Tim, I would have never had the courage to date you if Amelia hadn't pushed me. It was only after all that mess with Seth happened, that I realized how much you mean to me. If anything had happened to you… But I wouldn't have that, if she didn't drag me off my ass and push me towards you."

"She kinda pushed me too," Tim muttered, almost to himself. "But we make decisions together. I don't control everything."

"I've been so scared of losing you, or saying the wrong thing, that I just go along with whatever you say. When was the last time you heard me tell you, no? " Tim sighed after several seconds of silence. "Exactly, but that's my bad."

"It's my bad for not acknowledging it. You're right, bubble of denial." He shook his head. "But that doesn't give anyone the right to force us into something we didn't ask for. We never asked Amelia, or anyone for help. We could've worked this out by ourselves. Why does she always have to meddle?"

"We wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't for her. Don't you get it? We needed to be pushed to be together. Now, we have to be pushed just to have a real conversation. There's something wrong with that."

"Well, what do you want from me?"

"I gotta work things out with my friends. I need to apologize to everyone. I let myself revert back to a scared little girl. I need to fix this."

"There's nothing to fix. There's nothing wrong with you! I hate it when your so called friends say that there is!"

"Do you really like me this way? Do you enjoy having a subservient girlfriend who just gives you the lead in everything?"

Tim's face went pale. "That's not what I meant."

"It's what you _said_!"

"No." He crossed the room and stood in front of her. "No, Lexi, no." He shook his head. "That's not what I said. I just hate everyone trying to fix something in you. They keep telling you what's wrong with you. No one tells you any of the good things that I see. All they do, is shout negativity at you all day."

"Is that how you feel? Is that really why you refuse to leave me alone with any of my friends? You think they are trying to undermine my self confidence?"

"Yes!"

"Tim, a real friend doesn't pat your head and tell you everything is fine. A real friend calls you out on your BS and doesn't let you settle for 'fine.' And those friends who you think undermine my confidence, are the same friends who have been telling me from the start, how good you are for me. But I'm beginning to wonder about that." Tim's mouth fell open. "My friends are the only reason I didn't end up in a nut house after my dad died. They are the only reason I was able to get away from Derrick. And the only reason I have a successful business." Lexi took a step towards Tim. "And if you think anyone will ever come between me and my friends, after all they've done for me… Maybe you and I need to spend some time apart."

They both jumped when they heard the front door swing open.

"Hello?" Piper's voice called out. "We have breakfast."

Tim turned back to Lexi. "Wait, please." But she was already pushing past him, headed for the front room. "Lexi…" He winced when she shut her bedroom door, leaving him in there alone.

When Tim finally came out of Lexi's room, he was fully dressed. Everyone was gathered around the small kitchen table. The only seat was between Lexi and Piper. His gut clenched and unclenched several times as he made his way over to the empty chair.

"Morning, McGee." Tony gave him a garbled greeting. His mouth was full of blueberry muffin bites. "Coffee?" He set a paper cup in front of Tim.

"Thanks." Tim grabbed a muffin out of the box in the middle of the table.

Breakfast went on for several more minutes without conversation. Piper kept shooting looks at Lexi. She knew something had gone horribly wrong in the short time she and Tony were downstairs. But Lexi just gave her a blank look in return. Tim was looking everywhere but at Lexi. Piper finally nudged Tony and brought his attention away from the food.

A knock at the front door brought Lexi to her feet. Before she made it half-way to the door, it opened.

"Mitch?" Lexi stood in the middle of her living room, looking at the hard set face of her friend. "You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. But I'd sure like to know what the hell you guys did to upset Amelia."

"What did she tell you?" Lexi's shoulders slumped.

"Nothing." Mitch came all the way in and shut the door behind him. "Gavin called." Lexi heard someone choke on their food, from the table. "He asked me to come over and stay with Amelia. He wanted to stay home with her, but she shoved him out the door to go do his Marine thing. But he's so worried about her, cause she's not speaking, that he wants me to go over and make sure she's okay." Mitch threw his hands up. "What the hell happened, guys?"

"Grab a muffin and let me get dressed." Lexi turned towards her room. "I'll tell you everything on the way there."

"You're going to Amelia's?" Tony still had his mouth full. "Is that safe, right now?"

"We're all going." Lexi sent a short glare to the table before going into her room.

"What's the matter?" Mitch asked playfully, looking at Tony. "Afraid she'll put your other arm in a sling?"

"Would you put it past her?" Tony asked.

"Good point."

NCIS

Lexi knocked on the door, half expecting no one to answer. Her heart thumped furiously until the door was slowly opened. The quiet creaking of the hinges reminded her of all those scary movies she had been dumb enough to watch as a kid. It really wouldn't surprise her if Amelia was on the other side of the door holding a knife. A quick glance behind her let her know everyone was still with her.

"Well come in, if you're coming." Amelia sounded both weary and annoyed. Lexi stepped into the small front room and then stopped in her tracks. She sniffed the air and it only confirmed her fear.

"She baked." Lexi whispered as she whipped her head around to look at Piper. "I smell baked chocolate."

"Ooh, food." Tony remarked brightly.

"No, not ooh, bad, very bad." Lexi had finally walked all the way inside, allowing the others to catch the sweet scent.

"Chocolate is bad?"

"Tony," Piper nudged him. "She only bakes to relieve either severe depression or pent up anger."

"Oh… It's dark in here. Kinda creepy…" Lexi nodded at Tony in agreement. Maybe this was a scary movie.

Amelia cleared her throat making everyone face her. She was curled up in a blue recliner. Her left hand was playing with random strands of her hair.

"Hey…" Lexi didn't bother trying to sound cheerful. Amelia just nodded at them. Mitch quickly went into the small dinning room that separated the front room from the kitchen. There was cake in there, and _he _didn't come here to spill his guts.

"We, uh…" Piper started. "We thought you might want some company." Amelia just cocked an eyebrow at them.

"Silent treatment, ouch," Tony muttered. He snapped his mouth shut when Amelia directed her gaze at him.

"Okay, we know we screwed up." Lexi rushed out. "I know, I did. I should never have accused you of sabotaging my relationship with Tim. I was doing that just fine by myself, I didn't need help. I just… I didn't want to admit that you were right, again. Sometimes it's annoying when you're friends know you better than you know yourself. I know you wanted to help. It's all you've ever tried to do. And I'm so sorry that I couldn't just say that to you last night." Lexi waited twelve agonizing seconds (yes, she counted them) for Amelia to say something. When Amelia just continued to stare at her, not even her usual glare, Lexi caved. "I do let Tim influence me too much." She heard someone shuffle their feet behind her. "And I've told him that we need time apart so I can get things right with my friends." Finally she got a reaction. It was so tiny that if you didn't know Amelia, you would never notice it.

"We're taking time, too." Piper spoke up. Again, Lexi saw the minute reaction. "That nuke you dropped, needed to be set off. Just because we don't talk about our problems, doesn't mean they don't exist. Not your fault none of us had the balls to do what needed to be done. We owe you for that. And I'm sorry too. I should have never turned on you, like that. And I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."

"So will I." Lexi and Piper both turned to Tony in surprise. "What? I can be a man and admit when I've screwed up. Don't look so surprised." He stepped in front of Lexi and looked right at Amelia. "I should've stepped up for you last night. I just sat there and let everyone make our mess, your fault. I should've thanked you. So… Thank you. Thanks for being a better friend to me than I've ever been to you. I don't even think we deserve you."

Finally, Amelia moved. She held out her left palm as if to give Tony something.

"Nice speech." Her sarcastic tone wiped the almost smile off Tony's face. "Would you like to thank the academy?"

Piper winced. She knew Tony had probably been rehearsing that, the whole way here. She had long ago confided in Amelia that Tony did in fact rehearse lines before he said them. Piper knew Tony only did it to avoid sounding like an idiot. But now was really the wrong time.

"Okay, so I practiced that a little." He shrugged. "I wanted to get it right. It's not easy being seen as the asshole all the time." Amelia's eyes flickered to Tim, then back to Tony. "Is there any way to cheer you up? This is freaking me out?"

"Well, watching you freak out is kinda funny."

"I'm glad I amuse you." He smiled.

"If you didn't, what other use would I have for you?" She quirked an eyebrow at him. "For the record, getting you all to that cabin really was for your own good, not just my amusement."

"We know." Lexi spoke up. "And Tony's right."

"I am?"

"Yes." Lexi rolled her eyes. "We do owe you and thank you."

"Well, I think you owed me way before this whole debacle. But you guys are idiots for separating. How are you supposed to work through anything if you're not together?" Amelia paused. "God, I really _am_ too good to you guys. You should be on my shit list, but here I am, advising you all, _again."_

"We love you for it." Lexi jumped in.

"I love you, too. It's why I already forgave you before you even got here. But that's not to say you are off the hook. Trusting you again is gonna be the hard part." Lexi cringed. She knew this was coming, but it still stabbed at her.

"Do you wanna be left alone now?"

"Well, it's been close to two days since I had sleep and I did some pretty extensive calisthenics last night." She smirked, remembering smashing her kidnapper's face with her foot.

After a stilted and awkward goodbye, everyone but Tim, found themselves outside of Amelia's house. Tim had been pulled back as everyone filed out. He just raised his eyebrows at the arm that Amelia was still holding. She released her grip and let out a frustrated sigh.

"You do realize why you were the first one I yelled at last night, right?" Tim just looked down at her, refusing to admit to anything. "Look, I do like you." Tim scrunched his eyebrows together. "I think you're good for Lexi. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have picked you for her."

"You picked me?"

"Yes. You may not have realized it, but I did. As soon as I saw the two of you at that convention together, I knew you were the one she should be with. Why do you think I've kept pushing her towards you? Remember all that advice I gave you? Would I have done that for someone I didn't want my best friend around?" Tim's face relaxed. "I know she's trying to prove herself by standing up to you, but she's kind of being an idiot about it. If you really want her back, I suggest you reevaluate your opinion of the people she loves, get off your own pedestal, and stop smothering her."

"I didn't realize I was smothering her." Tim looked down.

"One more thing…" Tim looked back up. "You owe Tony an apology."

"I know." Amelia grinned and cocked her head towards the door, giving him permission to leave.

Tim was quiet when he got to Lexi's Xterra. He climbed into the passenger seat and buckled himself in. No one asked him where he had been. Just as Lexi put the jeep in gear and started backing out, Tim turned in his seat to face Tony.

"I'm sorry, man. I've been an ass. And I'm sorry." Tony blinked several times before replying.

"It's cool. We're good." Tim smiled and turned back around. He barely caught Lexi's eyes on him before she set her gaze on the road.

"So, um…" Tony spoke up again. "No cake?" Piper brought her hand up and smacked the back of Tony's head with such ferocity that Amelia had seen it, she'd be proud.

**((Hope you enjoyed! More to come!))**


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter was written by my friend and muse Darkened Shadows. Thanx so much for all the help and late night chats! LUV YOU.**

**And to the reviewers, even the ones who have threatened my lazy butt, thanx for your support!**

"I'm sure my friend will be here in a bit." Amelia almost cringed as the lie spilled from her lips. Sure, a friend… She'd be surprised if any of them spoke to her for the rest of the week. Okay, yeah, they'd done the whole forgiveness and hugs thing but that didn't mean that the resentment and embarrassment had gone away.

"Alexia?" Millie asked, her young face open and without guile.

"Yeah, Lexi. We had a lunch thing. Well, more like a coffee thing. She said she'd meet me here a little bit after I had brunch with you. I just gotta text her." A frown pulled at Amelia's face – she had a tendency to talk too much when she lied.

There was some conversation that followed but she didn't follow any of it. She was adept at small talk but unlikely to remember it even as it was happening. She had more important things bouncing around in her brain, like how best to approach her friend about not making life decisions when she was trying to prove herself. Or what lie she was planning to tell her obstetrician about the ugly bruise that had formed on her temple from the harsh impact with her backseat window.

Amelia stirred her straw around the almost empty glass and sighed in relief when Millie got in her expensive-looking SUV and drove away. She had ordered another smoothie, but her waiter had yet to bring it. He was lucky she was a generous tipper. The wind kicked up and sent a few brown leaves swirling past her. She sighed again, her own mind swirling with questions. Why did her friends have to be such idiots? Why did she always have to be the one fixing everything? And when would people finally learn that pregnant was not a synonym for helpless?

Her phone buzzed, breaking her inner therapy session. She pulled it out and slid her finger across the screen. Her eyes widened when she saw that the text message was from Tim McGee. Didn't he hate her right now?

**I miss her. I want her back. Please help.**

Amelia was half a second from replying when another text popped up. Her lips quirked when Piper's name appeared on her screen.

**I was stupid! I want him back! What do I do?**

Under any other circumstances, Amelia would find this funny as hell. But recent events had seriously worn down her sense of humor. She decided to kill two birds with one text.

"Heh heh, kill," she muttered to herself. Her mind told her that if anyone had heard that, they'd probably be slightly creeped out.

**I'm at Jefferson Bistro if you wanna talk.**

After she hit SEND, it didn't take long for the both of them to tell her they were on their way. Now, where the hell was her damn smoothie?

As the thought passed through her brain, the waiter appeared almost magically with her drink. Amelia was sure to give him the bright smile and the hard eyes just so he wouldn't know if he'd be getting a tip. Eagerly (maybe skittishly), he cleared away Millie's dishes and left her in peace. She smiled down at her drink – strawberry-banana was her favorite.

Keeping her eyes on the road and her lips wrapped around her straw, Amelia was glad she had insisted on a patio table. Being pregnant often meant a higher internal temperature, making her a little bit uncomfortable, and it was a nice day to be outside. Still, it gave her notice for the arrival of her friends and plenty of time to fully push aside some of the bitterness that still skirted around in her mind.

She couldn't help them if she was mad at them.

She didn't have to wait very long, though. Soon enough, two cabs pulled onto the curb of Jefferson Bistro, one holding Tim and the other Piper. It was odd how synchronized they were for not knowing a thing about each other. Stirring her drink with a firm hand, she waited with a cocked ear for them to notice each other.

"What are you doing here?" they asked each other simultaneously, their voices equally heightened. She had a feeling that had more to do with whatever respective reasons for which they were actually seeking her out rather than not wanting to see the other. "I'm here to talk to Amelia," they continued to answer, still in unison.

Not wanting to torture them too much, Amelia held up her hand and waved. "Guys," she called, catching their attention. They instantly snapped their stressed eyes to her, hurrying to her table.

"Amelia," Piper said in relief, collapsing in a chair next to her friend.

"You have to help…" Tim paused, casting a glance in Piper's direction. "Us?" The photographer nodded sadly.

"Oh-ho, no," Amelia laughed. "I don't _have_ to do anything. The last time I helped, I got the proverbial spit to the face. Besides, you two fouled up things all on your own."

"But…" Piper started, her eyes wide in desperation. "You've always helped."

Amelia sighed, shrugging noncommittally. "Maybe that's the problem." She watched in interest as Tim's face pinched slightly and he nodded as if to himself.

"Maybe it is," he agreed, his tone hard.

"Tim," Piper hissed. "You're the problem and you know it."

Amelia cleared her throat, picking up her glass and setting it firmly on the edge of the table for emphasis. "Now, children, settle down," she told them with a smirk. "I didn't say I _wouldn't_ help, now did I?"

The federal agent went still and finally sat down. "Okay."

"You both need a change of perspective," Amelia began. She traced an unknowable pattern on the tabletop, knowing exactly what she needed to tell them to adjust their behavior but wanting to keep that story trapped in its box. She turned to Piper. "Fixing you is easier than him."

"It is?"

Amelia caught Tim's sharp and offended gaze but was sated when he didn't say anything.

"You've been hurt – abandoned and worse – so you created a wall to hide behind. A buffer between you and the rest of the world, so pain won't hurt so much." She hit the photographer with the full brunt of her dark brown gaze. "But, Pie, happiness has no point without pain."

The other girl huffed, a sign that she was retreating behind that very wall at the truth that Amelia was giving her. "What would you know about pain? You have the happiest relationship I've ever seen."

The pregnant woman inclined her head, conceding the point, and then passed a hand over her face tiredly. She then proceeded to launch into the story, wanting to get it over with quickly. "When Lexi came back from the Culinary Institute, I was a different person than she remembered. Moody, depressed, in agony."

"What? You couldn't spend a year without her?"

Amelia shifted her eyes to the federal agent, but no anger was in her gaze, only sadness. "I wish that had been why." She swallowed past a lump in her throat. "A few months after she left, I was raped."

"What!?" Piper yelped, jumping out of her seat with incredulity. She immediately switched gears, face softening in sympathy and hands reaching out to console. "Amelia…"

"Touch me and you'll wish you hadn't," she growled immediately. "And leave your pity for someone who cares." Piper immediately raised her hand carefully away and returned to her seat.

Tim cleared his throat gently. "What happened?" he asked her softly.

"Suffice to say that there was alcohol involved and I trusted someone it turns out I shouldn't have." She turned to Piper again. "We've all got trauma, no matter how big or small. In fact, I pity those who haven't had anything bad happen to them, ever. Because they'll never know real happiness."

"I don't know how to be happy, Amelia," Piper said plaintively, her eyes attempting to find the answer in the serious brown pools that looked back at her.

Amelia's lips twitched into a gentle smirk. "The first step is admitting you have a problem." She sighed, her eyes going distant. "Pie, it's actually very easy. You just have to _want_ to be happy."

"But I don't know how…" the photographer started before her friend raised her hand.

"Shush. Wait for it." Amelia watched Piper's face keenly. Confusion overwhelmed her visage for two seconds before her eyes flicked to the side, the skin of her forehead crinkling in a familiar calculating expression. "That's it."

"I…" Piper paused, standing sharply enough that her chair made a high-pitched complaint as it fought with the cobblestone underneath their feet. "I gotta go." With that, the photographer exited the way she came, the plan in her head obviously all-consuming.

"How do you do that?" Tim asked suddenly, leaning forward in interest.

"Asks the federal agent-slash-detective," she remarked dryly. "That story wasn't just for her, you know."

Tim sighed, deflating before her eyes and placing his head in his hands. "I know," he groaned. "Was it true?"

"Of course it was!" she exclaimed, appalled. "Why would I make up something like that?"

Pulling his hands away from his face, the agent granted her a self-deprecating smile. "I don't know, maybe the two guys whose asses you've handed to them recently? Next to Ziva, you're the epitome of badass, Amelia."

"And now you know why," she murmured just loud enough for him to hear. "I know she's told you that we call her helpless."

"Who? Lexi?" As if struck by lightning, Tim remembered exactly why he wasn't very fond of his girlfriend's friend. That is, if she was still his girlfriend.

"Yeah. She lied."

Tim scoffed immediately. "Lexi couldn't tell a lie if her life depended on it."

"And yet…" Amelia shrugged noncommittally. "It's what she does – pawns her feelings of helplessness on someone else so she doesn't come off as weak. It's a carryover from Derrick and some other bad relationships she's found herself in. I've tried to break her of it."

"You've _called_ her helpless," Tim accused softly.

"And I've called you an idiot," she rejoined with a roll of her eyes. "You're still an extremely smart guy." She sighed and rolled her wrist agitatedly. "When I call Lexi helpless, she knows she's doing something I don't like, probably something she shouldn't be doing if she can help it. When I say it, I may not mean that she's helpless exactly, but it's the word she responds to the most."

Tim harrumphed softly but didn't argue. It was clear that he could see her point, as much as it pained him to do so. "Why didn't you tell her?" he asked softly, his tone conveying that he had switched back to the topic Amelia would give anything not to discuss.

"I made her establish an incommunicado rule before she left for the school. She was doing the fast track and any distractions would have derailed her." She shrugged her shoulders noncommittally. "But I guess… if Lexi didn't know about it, it made it a little less real."

Closing her eyes against past memories that flashed across her mind, Amelia stood. "You know, I should get back home."

Tim stood as well, ever the gentleman. "Amelia?"

She looked at him, her blank face communicating that she was prepared for any insults. "Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry."

She smiled then, although she could still feel sadness draining that expression. "I know. Just… keep trying, okay? It'll turn out alright." With that, she turned away, walking in long strides to the curb to hail a cab. However, she couldn't help but hear his murmured reply.

"I hope so."

**Again, thank you Darkened Shadows!**


	7. Chapter 7

Monday morning, Gibbs walked into the bullpen ready to confront two particular idiots on his team. His weekend had not gone at all according to plan, and whereas part of that could easily be forgiven, if McGee and DiNozzo still hadn't worked out their crap, heads would roll. Coffee in hand, he looked around. Ziva was at her desk, typing away at her computer. Gibbs checked his watch. The other two should be getting here any minute now. The elevator dinged and Gibbs turned.

McGee and DiNozzo came out of the elevator together. They were having a hushed conversation that for once, did not resemble an argument. Gibbs arched an eyebrow as the two got closer to him.

"She actually said that? That you want a subservient girlfriend?" Tony asked. He sounded offended.

"Yeah… Am I really like that?" McGee bit his lip.

"No! You thought you were protecting her. Hell, even I understand that. How many different ways does she want you to explain it?"

"You don't think I was trying to control her?" McGee seemed as surprised that Tony was on his side, as Gibbs was.

"No. She's being irrational. You do _not_ deserve this. Has she spoken to you at all?"

"I tried calling her last night but she just yelled at me not to call again."

"She just needs to cool down. She's crazy about you, but right now, she's too worried about Amelia to see straight.. Just give it time."

"Thanks man, I needed that."

They passed right by Gibbs, not even looking up at him. Gibbs was pleasantly surprised that not only were they talking, but DiNozzo was going out of his way to help McGee… Maybe they could keep their heads after all.

Gibbs let his lips quirk into his half-grin. He was finally getting his family back.

NCIS

Tony wanted to jump up and down when Piper called him, Thursday night. He'd had an uneventful day at work and the most he had to look forward to, was spending the night alone, in front of his television. Just as he stepped into the elevator with Ziva, his phone started playing a ring tone he hadn't heard all week.

"Is that 'Howling for You' by The Black Keys?" Tony nodded, slightly impressed with Ziva's knowledge of good music.

"Piper's ring tone." He muttered while pulling his phone out. "Hello?"

"Hi. Are you busy?" She was trying to sound casual, but Tony caught the hesitation.

"No. I was headed home, actually." He took a breath, trying to hide his excitement. "What are you doing?"

"I just rented 'Crossfire Trail' and thought you might wanna join me."

"I'd love to. Wow, you really do have a thing for Mark Harmon."

"Your Magnum crush is in it, too." She teased him.

Tony laughed. "Want me to bring pizza or BBQ?" He was practically hopping from one foot to the other.

"Uh, whichever you feel like."

"On my way." He flashed a smile at Ziva just as the elevator doors opened.

"Good luck." She called, as he hurried to his car.

Tony tried to treat this as just two friends getting together for a movie night, but when Piper accompanied her hello with a kiss, it messed with his resolve. When they sat down, Piper left a few feet between them, but she was still close enough that he could smell her scented lotion. Being away from the scent for so long made it seem more powerful now.

It was twenty minutes into the movie when Tony realized he hadn't heard a sound, or felt a movement from Piper's end of the couch. He chanced a look at her from the corner of his eye. She was staring straight at the television screen, almost wide-eyed. One hand rested on her left thigh, the other was wrapped securely around a can of soda.

"Bored?" Her sudden question made him jump. She laughed quietly and turned to him.

"No, just not very interested in the movie." He answered truthfully, slumping back down on the cushion.

"Sorry. I was trying to plan our second, first date better than this."

"We're on a date?" Tony sat up straight.

"Did I not mention that? Oops." Tony chuckled at her nervous expression. "Do you want this to be a date?"

"Only if I get to kiss you at the end."

"Okay, I guess." She laughed, the nervousness slowly seeping out of her. She set the soda can on the small table beside her. "I've been thinking…"

"Uh oh." His smile melted away when he saw the seriousness on her face. "What is it?"

"I do want a commitment. I mean, _I want _one, but I'm not sure how to start one. Is it any different from what we had before?"

"It will be, if you start telling me about your doubts, instead of letting them eat at you. And at least try to start coming out from behind that wall."

"Okay… My doubts. Let's see… Well, for one, Amelia and Gavin have the only happy relationship I have ever seen." Tony's eyebrows went up. "I just always figured if I set myself up for disappointment, it won't hurt as much when it actually does happen. It wasn't you, I doubted. It was relationships in general."

"Piper, if you set yourself up for disappointment, it's all you're ever going to get." He was surprised at how wise he sounded, considering he hadn't rehearsed for this at all.

"Well, okay, but… I can't just turn off my brain when bad thoughts happen. I don't really know what you want me to do."

"You're doing it right now. Talking about things, not hiding them from me."

"I know you are the only one I want to be with. I'm fairly certain you feel the same about me…"

"That's exactly how I feel."

"I believe you. I mean, I really don't think you'd lie to me, especially not at this point." He could see her struggling to make her point. "You said you didn't want to invest in a relationship, unless I did too. " He nodded. "How can I prove that I want to invest in a relationship with you? I don't know how, other than to just tell you."

"I don't expect some big gesture. I just want you to trust me, or at least try to. Trust that I would never hurt you. Can you do that?"

She looked him right in the eyes. "Yes." Then she paused and smiled. "Can we end this date."

"Why?" He cocked his head.

"I want my kiss. And I want to start our second, second date. Second date is cuddle territory." Her smile grew. "I miss cuddling with you."

"Don't you think we're moving kinda fast?" His voice was teasing.

"Third date, is the make out date." She cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm totally okay with moving fast." He smiled. Then his face grew serious again. "But I want you to be ready for this. I don't want you to think you have to pick things right back up, just so I'll stick around."

"Being away from you made me realize how ready I am…" She rolled her eyes. "And there you go again, making me think mushy thoughts."

"Is that really a bad thing?"

"That depends… Do I still get my kiss?"

Tony leaned forward, fully intent on breaking every first date rule.

NCIS

Milo's Bar and Grill wasn't exactly a hotspot of activity for a Friday night. Piper looked across the round pub table at Lexi and held in the urge to ask if she was okay. Lexi had one hand on her cheek, holding up her head, and the other hand wrapped around her cell phone. She had pulled the little device out of her pocket for about the ninth time since the two women had sat down.

"Why don't you just call him?" Piper had tried being sympathetic, then supportive, now she was getting frustrated.

"And say what?" Lexi quickly shoved her phone back into her jeans pocket.

"That you miss him." Lexi glared at Piper before shifting her eyes to the table. "I know you miss him. You bring his name up every chance you get. Hell, you called the waiter, Tim."

"So?"

"So, his nametag says Mark." Lexi's mouth twitched. "Why won't you call him?"

"He hasn't called _me_ all week." Lexi countered, still trying to sound determined.

"Only because the last time he tried, you told him not to call you again. He's being a gentleman and not pushing. I bet he's just waiting by his phone for…" Lexi looked up when Piper trailed off. Piper's eyes widened in surprise for a second. Then she smiled. "Maybe not." Lexi turned her head in the direction Piper was looking.

"You're kidding me." Lexi mumbled to herself.

The dim lighting of the grill made it hard to see the bar area. But Lexi had no trouble recognizing the two people who had just sat down, with their backs to her. She whipped back around and faced Piper's still smiling face.

"What are they doing here?" Lexi demanded.

"How am I supposed to know? You asked me to bring you here, remember?"

"Can we leave?"

"Hell no! I already paid for our drinks!"

"Text Tony and ask why they are here."

"Okay, fine… Geez." Piper quickly sent Tony a text asking him what he was up to. Lexi moved her chair so she was beside Piper, but could still see the bar.

**From Tony: McGee wanted to have a guy night. Out at bar. He needs cheering up.**

Piper shot a look at Lexi. "See, he misses you." Piper poked Lexi's arm as punishment.

"Ask if Tim is talking about me?"

"That's a weird question for me to ask him."

"Just do it!" Piper glared, but sent the text anyways.

**From Tony; Are you kidding? Only every five seconds. Wish she would just call him so I could stop having me sleeve cried on. **

"That was mean!" Lexi looked at the screen angrily.

"Honestly, I kinda know how he feels." Lexi straightened in her seat. "Oh, come on, you are just being stubborn. I know you want him back! You just can't admit that maybe you took things too far with this whole standing your ground crap. You want to teach him a lesson, okay. But you took it to a whole new level of 'screw you.' Just tell him you miss him. Do it now! Text him! I guarantee you will see a reaction." Piper cut off her speech when her phone buzzed again.

**From Tony: What are you up to? Working?**

**To Tony: No, having my own sleeve cried on. You're right, it sucks.**

Piper heard Tony laugh all the way from the bar. When she looked back at Lexi, she was staring down at her own phone. Lexi angled it so Piper could read the screen.

**To Tim: I miss you.**

**From Tim: I miss you too, so much. Can we talk?**

**To Tim: I'm out with Piper.**

"You idiot!" Piper tried not to yell. "Why'd you tell him that!"

"It's true. I am with you!" Lexi's phone buzzed in her hand.

**From Tim: Oh. Well, have fun.**

"Have fun?" Lexi mused.

"He's trying to be nice, moron. Can you blame him after you accused him of trying to keep you away from all your friends? You basically just shot him down, again." Lexi sighed and punched something into her phone. A moment later, her eyes squinted and she sent another text. Piper grabbed Lexi's arm and pulled, so she could see the screen.

**To Tim: Piper thought I needed cheering up. So I got dragged out.**

**From Tim: Why do you need cheering up? Are you okay?**

Piper knew Tim was playing it safe. His detective side had him fishing for information without revealing exactly what he wanted to know.

**To Tim: I'm just fine. Piper only thought I needed cheering up.**

"You are insufferable!" Lexi pulled her arm back when Piper roared at her. "He's trying, and you just keep slapping him for it!"

"I don't know how to talk to him." Lexi finally admitted. "I do want him back… But…"

"You're embarrassed." Lexi's eyes widened. "I knew it. You're embarrassed because you've been such a bitch for no reason and now you have no face-saving way of telling him you want him back."

"Have you been taking mind reading lessons from Amelia?"

"I have to pee!" Piper jumped out of her seat. Lexi just sat back and watched her leave.

Tony was tracing his index finger around the top of his glass when his phone buzzed. McGee still had his own phone in his hand. Tony smirked at the intense stare he was giving it. When he flipped open his phone, he had a new message from Piper.

**Go to the bathroom.**

**Why?** He sent back.

**Just go to the freaking bathroom!**

Tony cocked his head. How did she even know where he was? "I gotta pee." McGee just grunted, not even looking at Tony as he got up.

Once Tony made it to the tiny hall that led to the bathroom, Piper jumped out of the shadows.

"Hi!" She exclaimed, wrapping both arms around him.

"Are you spying on me?" He teased her.

"Hey, we were here first." Piper led him out of the hall and pointed to the table where Lexi was still sitting. "We saw you two come in."

"That explains Lexi suddenly texting McGee." Tony's eyes found his friend, still at the bar holding his phone.

"I have a plan."

"More plotting? Amelia would be proud."

"Yeah, I think she's really starting to rub off on me."

"Okay… What's the plan?"

Back at her table Lexi scrunched her eyebrows together when she got a text from Piper.

**Left with Tony. Ball up and ask Tim for a ride home. **

Lexi's jaw dropped. "I've been played…"

Tim was still staring at his phone when a new message popped up.

**From DiNozzo: Look behind you.**

Tim turned in his seat. His eyebrows shot up when he saw Lexi, not twelve feet away from him, looking down at her hands with a horrified expression. Her eyes came up and connected with his. He waved awkwardly at her. She blinked several times and waved back. He pointed at himself, then at her, asking to join her. She nodded and he quickly made his way to her table.

"Hi." He greeted her when he sat down.

"Piper ditched me for Tony," she said, bluntly.

"Did they plan this?" He didn't sound as if this bothered him.

"Probably." Lexi rolled her eyes. "Once again, our friends are plotting against us."

"Against? Seems like they are plotting _for _us." Lexi sighed and Piper's advice to 'ball up' cycled through her head.

"I've been bitchy," she finally said.

"I wouldn't have used _that _word."

"But I have."

"I wasn't exactly a perfect boyfriend."

"But I know you've been trying… I mean, I know about you asking Amelia for advice. After everything, you were still willing to chance her wrath to work things out with me. And I just yelled at you for it."

"I had it coming."

"Not like that."

"Okay, I think we're done beating ourselves up." He chucked and smiled.

"You're right, we should move on." They both looked at each other for a full minute of silence. "Do you wanna have a drink together?" She would have laughed at the surprise and relief on Tim's face, if not for the fear gripping her stomach.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

Suddenly they both felt so comfortable, that they ended up chatting about random topics for almost two hours, before either realized how late it was. Tim had to go to work the next morning, so they called it a night. Before Tim was ready to say goodnight, they were already sitting in his car, outside of the bakery.

"I owe you an apology." Lexi said, rubbing one hand up and down her arm.

"What for?" Tim shifted in his seat so his body faced her.

"I kinda lost my head a little… I mean, when I accused you of alienating me from my friends, I never gave you the chance to explain."

"You were right though. I kinda did pull you away from them. I got too overprotective."

"Well, I didn't help things by constantly complaining about them calling me helpless." She sighed. "And I feel kinda stupid for letting my temper get out of hand. But I got scared and… There's just a lot of history with my friends and…"

"I know." Lexi's eyes connected with his. "I know, Lexi. I know everything." She cocked her head questioningly. "Amelia told me about the assault... When you were at Culinary School." Now, her eyes widened. "I know why you felt so guilty. You felt like you weren't there for her. You carry that guilt with you, still. And I'm so sorry I added to that."

"It wasn't your-" He held up his hand.

"Let me finish. Amelia once told me that losing your father completely broke you apart. And I know how much it hurts for you to talk about it. He was your hero. After what your mother's family did, he was still there for you. She also told me that you smile the way you did when he was alive, when you're with me… I think I get it now, why your friends mean so much to you. I get why your so terrified of losing them. After losing your dad, they were all you had left. And I'm so sorry for trying to pull you away from them. I know they would never hurt you. I would never hurt you, either." He sighed, wondering if he should go on, but feeling almost too exhausted to think properly. He hadn't been sleeping well. "Lexi, I want you back in my life. I hate not being around you. If you just wanna be friends, I'll take what I can get. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll stop being a gentleman and I'll tell you when you're being stubborn. I'll even disagree with you, when you say HALO is more awesome than Call of Duty, cause it's not!"

"Yes it is," was her automatic response. Then she stopped herself from continuing the argument when she realized she had just proven his point. He smiled, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"I have missed you. I want you in my life."

Lexi pursed her lips together. "Do you wanna call me tomorrow when you're on break of something?"

"Yeah." Tim let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. The feeling almost made him light-headed. "I'll uh… I can walk you up to your door." He put his hand on the door to let himself out but Lexi held up her hand.

"I thought you weren't gonna be a gentleman anymore." Lexi smirked.

"Well… baby steps." He shrugged.

NCIS

Gavin had just come home for the night. He found Amelia sitting at the kitchen table with her cell phone up to her ear. He smiled and playfully flipped her hair, as he passed her on his way to the fridge. He caught just enough to know she was talking to Piper about Lexi. Suppressing the urge to speak, he grabbed the milk and chocolate sauce out of the fridge. He had hoped that all of their friends would grow up by now, but what Amelia wants, Amelia gets. And if she wants to continue to step in when her friends can't see their own problems… These people were lucky Gavin was a patient man. And doubly lucky he had learned not to argue with Amelia by their second date.

"Kay, well I'm sure to be getting a text from Lexi any minute now." Gavin heard her try to wrap up the call. He poured two drinks and returned the milk and chocolate sauce to the fridge. "Update me, if you hear from her before me." Gavin placed one glass in front of his wife and sat across from her. "Night, night." Amelia smiled and clicked off the phone. "Mmmhh, thank you." She traded her phone for the glass of chocolate milk.

"You're welcome." He took a drink. "Good news?"

"Piper and Tony plotted without me."

"I'm sorry." He paused. "Or is this a good thing?"

"Well, if it ends badly, they can't blame me." She smirked.

"Okay, good thing, then." Amelia just shrugged and smiled. "Sometimes I wonder about you."

"What?"

"How you can be the way you are and still keep hold of your sanity."

"Oh, I threw sanity out the window years ago. I'm better off without it anyways."

"I believe you."

NCIS

The next night…

Gibbs pulled into his driveway and sighed as he shut off the engine. It had been another one of those weeks. He cocked a half-grin as he got out of the truck. With any luck, there wouldn't be any call outs and he could enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon with Chloe. Maybe he'd grill up some steaks for them. He had been over to her house several times to help her with all her repairs, but he had yet to invite her into his home. He was half-way to his front door, when he decided to just go across the street and invite her over, now. Chloe knew what he did for a living, so seeing him with his gun still strapped to his belt shouldn't worry her. He climbed the three concrete steps up to her porch, opened the screen door, and froze.

There was a fresh smear of blood right next to the door knob.

Gibbs turned the knob and shoved the door open with one hand, and pulled his gun out with the other.

"Chloe!" He shouted into the empty front room. "Chloe, are you alright?" He heard a thump coming front the middle of the house. Holding his gun up, he went through the kitchen and into the hall leading to the rest of the house. "Chloe?" He saw a light on in the bathroom. The door opened and Chloe came out looking confused. Gibbs' eyes bulged at the sight of her swollen nose and bruised lips.

"Uh… Hi." Her eyes were on the gun he still had pointed up. Gibbs' blinked and quickly put the gun away.

"What the hell?" Chloe couldn't tell if he sounded angry, or concerned.

"Do you always rush into people's houses, wielding your gun?"

"There's blood on your front door!" He pointed behind him.

"Oh, I should clean that." She walked past him. He followed her to the kitchen and watched her get a dish towel.

"What happened?" He calmed himself down as much as he could.

"I had a misunderstanding with my bird bath."

"What?"

"I was going to clean out the bird bath. I laid the hose out, but had to go back to turn it on. On my way back… I tripped over the hose and went face first into the bird bath." Gibbs stepped closer to examine her face. "I bruised my lips and got a bloody nose. I'm okay, though." She side-stepped around him and went to the front door. Again, Gibbs followed her. "I need to turn off the water hose." He heard her say just as she opened the door.

"I'll get it." She smiled and let him pass her to go outside.

When he came back in, she was at the kitchen sink washing her hands. He had almost forgotten his entire reason for coming over in the first place. When it finally came back to him, he chuckled. She turned around and looked at him curiously.

"Do you always find damsels in distress this amusing?"

"No," he shook his head, still grinning. "I originally came over to invite you to my house for fire-grilled steaks." Her face brightened. "But now, I'm not so sure you need to be crossing a street in the dark." Her mouth fell open.

"You asshole."

"Hey, just trying to look out for you." He shrugged. "You know, being neighborly and all."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to hold my hand while we cross the street." She put her hands on her hips and smirked. "You know, being neighborly."

"I'm ready when you are." He held out his hand. She looked at him for several seconds, as if to check if he was kidding or not. When he held his position, she stepped forward and accepted his hand.

"I can't tell if you're being a gentleman, or just making fun of me."

"Which ever one makes you feel better." He smiled and led her to the door.

They were both laughing by the time they made it to Gibbs' porch. Neither one saw the shadow pass behind them.

**Look for next story. Still working on a title but it centers around Gibbs and Chloe. Any ideas for a good title? Thanx and pls review!**


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